Hunting For Freedom, Book Three: Freedom Found
by Dejah
Summary: Riddick finally finds Gin Wolf and realizes that some things in life always run full circle.
1. Introductions

****

1. Introductions

Gin Wolf drew in a deep shuddering breath as the coppery taste of blood flooded her mouth. Her head hung down and she stared at her boots numbly. Her ribs burned and she clenched her teeth to keep from screaming at the ache. _Broken_, she thought. _How many? At least four. _No wheezing, that means she didn't have a punctured lung.

A rough hand grasped her chin and forced her head up. "Talk." The command was guttural, harsh.

She shook her head again. Using her last reserves of strength she narrowed her silvery eyes at the man and curled her upper lip in disgust. "No." Her low voice grated against her throat and she held her breath so she wouldn't choke on the word.

His fist slammed into her stomach and she coughed, the air forced out of her lungs. "Who are you protecting?"

Gasping for breath, she slumped over, the only thing holding her up were the chains and shackles attached to her wrists. They burned, too. She could feel the raw skin being torn away as warm blood trickled down her forearms. 

The man fisted his hand in the front of her short hair and pulled up hard so she was looking at him through her dazed eyes. "Who are you protecting?"

She knew she had to save her strength if she was going to get away so she feigned unconsciousness, rolling her eyes back in her head and going slack against her bonds, falling forward, her body limp. She couldn't kick him, they'd chained her feet to the floor. After the last time she'd escaped using her legs they'd figured it was no good just chaining her hands.

The man dropped her head in disgust and walked over to the steel door. He pounded it with his fist and the grate slid open. "She's out." The door opened and the man left.

Gin took a deep breath and began to work on her muscle control. Years of training were finally going to be put to good use. She closed her eyes and forced her body to relax, at least as much as her battered form would allow her to.

__

Okay, she thought, _control the muscles, focus on the muscles._ She could feel the strength centering in her stomach. She knew they were watching her, as soon as she showed she was awake they'd be back. She kept concentrating. The process took about thirty minutes and then she felt that the control she had was enough.

Planting her booted feet firmly on the floor, she stood upright and looked directly at the tiny red light in the corner. It blinked at her as she stared at it, and then, just as she'd known it would happen, the door opened and the man re-entered the room. 

He stalked over to her and looked her in the face. She could smell his fear. Even though she was chained up they hated being around her. She bared her teeth maliciously and he put up his false bravado, grabbing the front of her shirt he asked her again. "Who are you protecting?" She stared at him, breathing deep, keeping in control. She had to do this.

__

Can't escape. At least I'll give them a taste of the pain they gave me. She grinned again, showing her two, almost canine fangs and allowing a low growl to erupt from deep in her throat. The man pulled back his fist, flexed his muscles, and went to drive his hand into her stomach. She sucked in her final breath, tensed her stomach and closed her eyes, concentrating. 

The man's fist slammed into her stomach and he howled, grasping his hand and stumbling away from her. Hitting her had been like slamming his fist into a rock wall, and in the same fashion his hand had been smashed into bone fragments, broken and mangled.

Gin laughed at him, the sound low and choked, but a laugh all the same. He tripped his way to the door and fell against it. The door was flung open, but instead of being pulled inside the man was kicked to the floor. A large black shape jumped on the fallen man and there was a sickening crunch as the shape snapped the man's neck.

The form stepped away in a swift, graceful movement and turned to face her. She could see him in the dark, but her sensitive eyes were fogged from pain and lack of food and water, not to mention blood loss.

The last of her strength finally used up, Gin felt real unconsciousness slipping in and taking over. She fought it. "Who are you?" she ground out from between her teeth. The scent wasn't familiar.

The large shape shifted closer and she made out a shaved head and black goggles. Unable to hold out any longer she succumbed to the black edges of oblivion and fell forward against her chains.

------

Riddick stared at the woman chained to the wall in front of him. What the hell was she doing here? He'd almost gotten killed breaking into this place to save her ass.

He lifted the keys from the dead guard and unlocked Gin's feet and then her wrists, which were raw and bleeding. The rest of her didn't look so hot either. She fell against him and he threw her over his shoulder, unmindful of her busted ribs, knowing that no amount of gentleness was going to make them feel any better. He just needed to get her out of here, preferably alive.

Jack had told him she was something else. From the planet Trys-Ornay, the people from there were exactly what Jack had said this woman was; "something else." Jack had also said that if he needed help getting out of trouble with the Company, this was the woman that could do it. The woman groaned and he shifted her weight on his shoulder. She was light but not weak, from what he'd seen through the grate. That man had busted his hand on her stomach. He'd heard of people that had that sort of muscle control, it took years of meditation and training to be able to pull it off though. She didn't look that old.

Riddick began heading back to the ship at a trot and reached it quickly enough. He dropped Gin on a cot in the back and slid into the pilot's chair. With practiced skill he maneuvered the ship out of the docking bay and took off the planet, punching in the coordinates for where'd he'd been taking refuge.

Low groans emitted from the back of the ship as consciousness began to return to the woman. He went back and checked on her. She was sitting up, which was hard to believe and her nostrils flared as he entered the closet sized room.

He stared at her intently, his silver eyes glowing in the dark. Her eyes were black to him, but he knew she could see him just as clearly as he could see her. She wasn't completely human.

She pulled back her lips and bared the canine-like teeth at him, a low growl slipped from her throat. He could hear her pulse. It wasn't hurried, but slow and steady. She was calm. "Who are you?" she questioned. Her nostrils flared again. "You're not afraid of me."

He stepped closer so he was towering over her. "Are most people?" He kept his tone pitched low, not wanting to trigger some fight or flight mechanism. She seemed to relax.

"Yes. Most people are afraid of you, too." It wasn't a question.

"Yes. But you're not?"

"No. Nothing frightens me."

She was telling the truth. "Why?"

Gin shifted, as if startled by the question. "It's none of your concern."

Riddick watched her. "Is it Jack's concern?"

She lifted her dark brows. "What do you know about Jack?"

"I saved her life."

Comprehension dawned. "Hunter-Gratzner. You were the guy Jack was talking about. Riddick, Richard B." She stared at him and her nostrils flared again, and he knew she was trying to get a feel for him.

He sat on the edge of the cot and stared into her eyes. They were silver. Not the glowing silver of his shined eyes, but wolf silver. He wondered if her name was for real, or if she'd given it to herself. "How do you know Jack?"

Once again dark brows lifted in question. "She didn't tell you? She obviously sent you after me."

"All she said was that she met you before the crash. You've seen her since though, if you know about me." He could sense that she was in pain but unwilling to succumb to it and lay down.

She nodded slowly. "Yes. At the mining colony you left her on. I was-" she paused for a moment, as if trying to decide how much to tell him. "I was checking out the competition."

Riddick cocked his head to one side in an animalistic way, curiously. "What 'competition?'" Her eyes narrowed and he knew then he wasn't going to get any more out of her yet. He shifted and the cot dipped under his weight, causing her to shift and she let out a low hiss of pain between her teeth. "We'll talk more later. I can't have you bleeding to death so I'm gonna patch you up and then you can sleep."

For a moment Gin looked like she was going to protest taking his aid, but then thought better of it. "All right," was all she said.

He stood up and grabbed a first aid kit that was hanging on the wall. It was big and Gin looked at him strangely. "You were expecting to find me beat up?"

He shook his head. "No, it's just a good thing to keep on hand though in my situation."

She nodded her agreement. "I have one on board my ship, too." With a groan she suddenly collapsed on the cot and he stepped over to her. She lifted her hand as if to say she was all right.

He knelt down and opened the first aid kit. He began swabbing her many wounds with antiseptic and alcohol, surprised that she didn't even flinch at the pain. He pulled out his shiv and sliced her shirt open and she didn't even bother to protest. He checked her ribs. Four, maybe five broken. No punctured lung. She was bruised up bad and he rubbed a special ointment he'd come across over the bruises. A purr came from deep in her throat and her closed eyes fluttered. He tried to keep from smiling. Trys-Ornay bred some strange species of people. He'd heard stories about the inhabitants. Years of living in the woods and forests had found them breeding almost superhuman children. Animal-like in the most primitive of ways. Smell, sight, touch, hearing, taste, and among that a strange knack for picking up muscle control techniques. He'd even run into a few of her kind before. They weren't much fun to tangle with, male or female. High pain tolerance, too. No, not fun to tangle with at all, not even for him. 

He cut off her pants and found her legs didn't look good either. No fractures though, she'd live to walk again. He rubbed in some more ointment and then rolled her over. She growled and he paused, then she resumed her normal breathing pattern and he checked her back. Whipped. Not pretty at all. They'd worked her over worse than he'd ever been, and he'd been worked over bad more than once. With a beating like this she should have been dead.

When he had her ribs bound he stood up and replaced the first aid kit. He turned to look at her and found she was pretty. More than pretty, beautiful. Her hair was short and blonde, spiky. Golden skin, almond shaped eyes, heart shaped face. Great body, that is, if the hell hadn't been beaten out of her. She suddenly stirred, her nostrils flaring in his direction and he fled the tiny room, knowing full well he was running from her. He could live with that. Maybe he'd even run back, eventually. _Yes_, he thought to himself. _Definitely have to run back to that little animal._


	2. Nightmare

****

2. Nightmare

Gin stirred and groaned as her ribs screamed at her, unmercifully. Her back felt better and she dimly remembered Riddick cutting her out of her torn and bloodied clothes to patch her up. She laid on her stomach for a moment and listened, nostrils flaring. He was in the next room. She listened closer. Asleep, she realized with a start. _He's sleeping. Good_.

Growling low in her throat she pushed herself upright and swung her bare legs over the edge of her cot, placing her feet on the cold floor. Her boots and socks were gone. She was only wearing a tiny scrap of panties and the ship was cold. She rubbed her arms and dug around for some clothes. She found a pair of pants and a t-shirt that obviously belonged to Riddick, for they were way too big, but she pulled them on anyway and then found her boots and socks, tugging them on her cold feet.

Then, with cat-like grace, she sulked out of the room and into the cockpit, sniffing for Riddick. She found him asleep in the pilot's chair, his eyes closed. She stood next to him, staring curiously, head cocked to the side. He was gorgeous, she realized. Smelled good, too. Very male. She bent towards him and licked her lips and the edges of her teeth hungrily, debating whether or not to lick him. He had a cut below his left eye, the skin was swollen. Her animalistic instincts told her to lick it, soothe it with her tongue. She gulped. With a snarl she pulled back, removing the temptation. She wasn't built for this. _Too long without a man, _she chided herself.

Deciding she'd better go do some control exercises to speed along her recovery to full mobility, she headed back in the direction of her cot. There was a sudden whoosh of air, and she dropped to a crouch and leapt sideways, spinning around. Riddick stood looking at her, shiv drawn. He'd tried to grab her from behind, but she was too fast. 

"What were you doin'?" Riddick growled, the distrust evident in his gravel-rough voice.

Gin stood crouched, teeth bared and growling, holding her ribs. She was trembling with pain from her sudden movement, breathing in short gasps.

Riddick relaxed and slid his shiv back into his pants. He took a step towards her and held out his hand. Gin drew back and stood very slowly, grasping her ribs with her arms and hands. "I'm sorry, lady. I'm not used to being watched while I sleep. It was just instinct to try and jump you like that." He dropped his offered hand to his side.

Gin nodded, her lips now covering her teeth and the growl subsiding. "It's all right. Just protecting yourself." She nodded again, but the pain grabbed a hold of her right then and she cried out, stumbling and then falling against the wall, barely keeping herself from collapsing.

Riddick had his arm around her in less than a second, swinging her up into his arms. She laid against his chest, eyes closed. Her breathing was labored. He gently laid her on the cot, careful of her ribs and back. Her heart was pounding irregularly, in time with her ragged breaths. "How long were you in there? A month? Two?" Riddick asked, sitting beside her carefully.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gazed at him. "Longer," she whispered. "I don't know how long. Maybe four months... They'd take me out and beat me, and when I wouldn't talk they'd lock me up again. I thought I was going to die in that place. I must look like shit, huh?" She tried to smile, but merely managed to twitch her lips.

He smiled and pushed a short hank of blonde hair off her forehead. "Not too bad," he whispered.

Gin suddenly felt that something was happening. His deep, gravely voice slid over her like rough velvet. She felt a connection with this man. He wasn't much different from her, he could even be from Trys-Ornay with the way he moved and the sensitivity of his senses. He didn't pull his hand away from her hair. Instead his glowing silver eyes stared into her wolf silver ones intensely. She licked her cracked lips, tasting the blood that was still dried to them from her beatings. Riddick copied the movement, his tongue running along his full lower lip, and her eyes followed the unconsciously seductive movement.

They were both perfectly still, like hungry predators, waiting for their prey to make a move so they could strike. 

His hand fisted gently in her hair. He sucked in a harsh breath and finally pulled away his hand, but he didn't get up from the side of her cot. "There's something here, you know."

She didn't reply, just kept her eyes on him intently. They were pain glazed, but still intense. 

He ran the tips of his fingers over one bruised cheek. He'd never felt this gentle protectiveness for anyone. Not even Jack, not like this anyway. He bent towards her, his eyes locked on her bow shaped lips, then he pulled back. "I'd better check your ribs and back and then let you sleep. We'll be landing soon."

She acknowledged that she'd heard him with a low sound in her throat and let Riddick take care of her.

------

Riddick helped Gin out of his oversized t-shirt and unwrapped her ribs. Surprisingly, they seemed half way healed already, the bruises that had been black the night before were now a nasty yellow green color. The stripes on her back were scabbed over. He figured it was one of the characteristics of the Trys-Ornay people. Fast healers. He'd heard that about them. Valuable ability.

He re-wrapped her ribs, which although they seemed better, were obviously still broken. There might even be a few more cracked ones, and they were all bruised bone deep. More ointment on her back and bruises along with a long drink of water, then he pulled the t-shirt back on over her head. Then she was sound asleep, exhaustion finally taking over.

He wondered when she'd slept last. Not been unconscious, but actually slept. He figured it had been a long time. She was dehydrated as well. Lost a lot of weight in that hell hole, too. Her ribs showed through her skin, her shoulder bones jutted out, but there was a sleek cover of muscle as well. He'd feed her when she woke up.

------

Gin slid in and out of sleep, dreams fluttering in and out of her subconscious. Nightmares. Her brother and sister, cornered like animals, teeth bared and growling. She could see her little sister standing protectively between their much younger brother and the Company Rangers, who pointed and laughed at them like zoo animals. 

Her sister leapt forward, dodged the bullet and jumped on the first Ranger. She pulled out her blade and slit the man a new smile below his jaw, from ear to ear. Blood spurted up to cover her face. She licked her lips and lifted her head, baring her teeth at the other Ranger. 

The man stepped back, pointing his shotgun at her. Gin jumped on his back and snapped his neck from behind. They ran over to their brother. 

"He's only seven, Gince. What do we do with him?" Gin's sister, Ven, asked.

Gin dropped to her knees and pulled her brother close. "Shh, little man. It's okay now." She glanced up at Ven. "I can't take care of you two. And don't call me Gince." Gin was the oldest at twenty-four, Ven was just seventeen, and poor little Brand. He was just a kid. 

Ven stared at her sister and swiped the blood off her face with her shirt sleeve. "You're leaving us?"

Gin glanced sharply at her sister. "It's not like I'm going to abandon you. I'm leaving you at a minor's camp. It's a four day flight from here. I'll be back soon. You'll be safe there, and you can work. It can't be like it was when Mama and Daddy were around. It's different now."

Brand held her desperately. "Please, don't leave us, Gin. Please say you'll stay."

She pushed the hair out of Brand's face. "Hey, don't you worry, little one. I'll be back."

He sniffed. "Promise?"

"Of course. The three of us are a team, right? A new brand of vengeance. Always."

But then Brand and Ven's faces faded out and she was in the cell, chained to the wall. The guards were beating her again. Their fists slamming into her stomach and ribs. They kicked her legs, back handed her face. Then the crack of the whip, cutting into her skin. She tried not to scream, to clench her teeth, but she couldn't hold out any longer. She opened her mouth and let out a bloodcurdling howl of pain.

------

Riddick rushed into the back room when he heard Gin's cry. She sounded like someone was trying to kill her. Finding her in the throes of a nightmare, he grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard. "Wake up," he bit out. Not all there yet, she struck out at him. He grabbed her hand before it could connect. "Its me! It's Riddick!"

Recognizing him, she went slack in his grip. "Nightmare," Gin whispered, and Riddick let her lay back on the cot. She covered her eyes with her hands and clenched her jaw tight.

"You need to eat," he said. She shook her head no. "Yes." He got up and left then came right back with a bowl. He put it to her lips and forced her to drink the hot, meet flavored liquid. She sucked it down and he made her eat a large hunk of beef jerky, and then drink more water. She tried to get up. "Where are you going?" he asked, pushing her back down.

"I ate, I drank, now I have to take a piss. Is that okay with you, Riddick?" she said bluntly.

He smiled then, even chuckled a little. "Yeah, okay. The head is up towards the front, on the left."

She nodded and hobbled out of the room. He laid back on the cot. She was something else. He wondered what she'd been dreaming about. They were about twenty minutes away from the landing site.

When Gin came back into the room she looked composed and her hair was in some semblance of order, sort of. She ran a hand through it, shoving it up into wet blonde spikes.

"You washed your hair," he said.

She nodded and sat down again. "I need to concentrate," she said, crossing her legs.

"Muscle control?" he asked.

Gin nodded again. "Yes. It will help me heal faster."

"You heal pretty fast already, though, don't you?" It wasn't really a question.

"You could say that. Its a normal healing rate where I'm from, but its faster than most people." She closed her eyes and he could tell she was doing the exercises by her breathing and the sudden slowing of her heart rate.

He left the room and began guiding the ship into dry lock. They were there.


	3. Fate

****

3. Fate

**__**

Two Years Earlier

"Maybe it's fate."

Jack shook her head. "I don't believe in fate," she replied.

"Ah, c'mon, kid. Be a little more open minded." Jack shook her head again. "Okay then. How 'bout this? _Why_ don't you believe in fate?"

"That's easy. I don't like thinking anyone or anything else is in control of my life. I'll make my own destiny, so thanks but no thanks."

"You're sure? Because, if there is fate, then everything is much simpler than we think. That means, whatever the hell we do, we're going to go through the same old shit and end up in the same place in the end anyway. I'm at a point in my life where I'm starting to find that idea rather appealing."

"Why?"

"Because whatever I do, my life _still_ sucks. But don't dodge the subject. Don't you think that would make fate worth it? Sometimes?"

"Nope. If I'm on the road to hell, I want to be driving the bus," Jack answered, smirking.

"Smart ass. Good answer, though."

"No one likes a dumb ass," she murmured. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I told you, I'm a-"

"Don't shit me with the bounty hunter bit again. Bounty hunters grab their prey, their cash, and split. You've been here for three months and you still won't tell me anything."

"Don't be a wise ass, kid. Maybe I'm staking out something bigger."

"Nope. You've got the 'waiting look' about you."

"The 'waiting look'?"

"Yeah. It's the same look my mo-" Jack looked down at her hands, the fingers of her right hand still curled around her fork. She swallowed and started again, forcing her smirk back into place. "It's the same look my mom would get on her face when she was waiting for my dad. But not impatiently, ya know? Just... waiting, because she wanted to see him."

Jack looked up at her companion. "So what are you waiting for, Gin?"

Gin shook her head and took a bite of her sandwich. "Don't call me that out here, Jack. That person's dead, remember?"

"Right, right. Reese. Sorry, Reese. 

"Who're you waiting for?"

"Persistent, aren't you."

"So, you're not going to tell me?"

Gin shook her head and looked down, smiling slightly. "No, Jack. I'm not. Because if I say it out loud, it just might ruin it."

"Or make what you really think more real." Jack smiled wryly into Gin's slightly startled eyes. "Yeah. I know. You can't say it out loud."

"Sometimes you're wiser than you look, Jack," Gin said. "Don't push no more?"

"Naw. I won't push no more. You want to tell me, you will."

"Thanks, kid."

They ate in silence for a while, neither of them feeling the need to speak.

Jack started slightly when Gin started to speak again. 

"You know, where I'm from, no one believes in fate neither. They all think like you. 'If I'm on the road to hell, I want to be drivin' the bus.'" She smirked and Jack drew her brows together. "No one wants to think they can't control where they're going. When they threw me in the slam, I thought my last chance had came and went."

"You escaped, though. They think you're dead."

"Yeah. They think I'm dead. Everyone thinks I'm dead. It wasn't so hard, to crack the files, switch thing around. Swap dental, tissue, DNA, and blood records with some Jane Doe about the same height and build as me. Like hacking government files is hard." She laughed humorously. "But everyone thinks I'm dead."

Reaching across the table, Jack covered Gin's hand with her own. "Not me."

"Naw, Jack. Not you." Gin shrugged and chuckled quietly, then pulled her hand away to pick up her sandwich again. "You know why I told you who I really am, Jack?"

"Is this another trick question?" Gin loved asking her questions that had no right answer. Or that had an answer that would make her look stupid so she could be subject to more sisterly teasing.

"Nope. No tricks. Now c'mon. Guess."

"You were taken in by my boyish good looks?" Jack joked, running a hand through her short hair and then tugging proudly at her baggy t-shirt.

Gin laughed loud and grinned. "Right. Exactly." She laughed a little again, quieter. "No, but seriously. Something in your eyes kid. When you slipped those sly fingers of yours into my jacket pocket, and I caught you, you still didn't flinch. You just seemed to take it. Waiting for something." Gin smirked. "You had the 'waiting look'."

"And that made you trust me?" Jack said incredulously.

"I saw someone that was used to hidin' and takin' shit. That's how I knew I could trust you. That, and a warm meal usually makes quick friends between two hungry people."

Jack looked down at the table and into her bowl of stew. "And here we are, eating again. So maybe it was fate."


	4. For the Love of Hygiene

****

4. For the Love of Hygiene

Riddick gathered all his stuff together and shoved it in his duffel bag. Gin was still meditating and he needed to get some stuff together. He grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled a note on it; "Getting supplies. Back in thirty minutes."

With that, he pushed the button to open the ship gate and stepped out into the hot air. The little out-of-the-way planet, as you could call it, was sparsely populated and people kept to their own here. That's why Riddick had chosen it as his home base of sorts. Mining colonies dotted the surface of the planet and people from Earth to Trys-Ornay could be found here.

He walked to a supply stand at a leisurely pace, not worried about being in a hurry. It would only take him about ten minutes to get the supplies. He'd said he'd be back in thirty though so he could get his head together. Gin intrigued him in a way no other woman ever had. Even Fry had fallen short of peaking his complete curiosity. He'd never run from what he'd felt for Fry either. He'd run from Gin though. Twice now.

With her senses she could read him the same way he read people. He was attracted to her, to the way she moved, to her strength. Her voice. He wondered what she thought of him. Did she think of him at all? He shook his head like shaking off the thought. It didn't matter. He just needed her help and that was it. Nothing else.

With his head back in order, he strode into the supply store and began picking up different items. He held Gin's torn clothes in his hand so he could find her some clothes in her own size. He grabbed two pairs of black cargo pants and a couple shirts along with a parka. Never knew what the weather was going to be like where they were going. Never know where you're going either, for that matter. As an after thought he grabbed himself another pair of pants and a shirt along with socks for them both. You have to take care of your feet.

He had plenty of soap and the such on board the ship. Now he just needed drinking water, some food, preferably non-perishable, and... he paused to think. Something else he needed. Right. Toothbrush for Gin. He was sure she'd appreciate it.

He took his items to the stand owner and paid for it, not bothering to say anything to the man. He hiked around the homesteader spread. It was a mess of tin and twig buildings. Busted prowlers and pod ships littered the ground with tents strapped on to them for one purpose or the other, turned into half baked living quarters. Small, dirty children played in sand pits, attempting to build forts but unable to because the sand wouldn't stick together without water. He hiked to his own humble abode and looked around. An inch of dust covered everything.

He walked over to his cooler and checked it. Warm. The generator had been off since he left so he figured it would be. He wondered if he should open the freezer box and take a look inside. He'd left some food in there... three weeks ago. Either it had been stolen or it had come to life and escaped... but if it was still there it might just be wandering around in there, reproducing itself.

He braced himself and opened it up, half expecting a steak and a hunk of cheese to be getting on a poker game in there. He flinched and stepped back away from the smell. His sensitive nose was assaulted by the aroma of rotted meat and dairy products. He closed the door and picked up the box, hauling it outside. He dug a hole and dumped the rotting contents into it, burying it. He wished someone had stolen the food. He walked over to his water tanks and used the hose to wash out the box and then he hauled it back inside and plugged it in. 

When that was in order he went outside and tinkered with his generator. It started up with a little oil and some gas and soon he had the place at least decent to live in if not to look at.

Riddick checked his watch. He needed to be back to the ship in five minutes. He headed back across the dusty camp and arrived back in time to see Gin tugging on the t-shirt she'd been wearing, her back turned to him.

She turned around as he entered and gazed at him curiously. She glanced at the two bags he was holding. "Supplies?" she questioned. 

"Yup. For you." He held out one of the bags to her.

She fixed him with a mock coy look. "For lil ole me?" she asked sweetly, batting her eyes at him.

Riddick couldn't help but laugh. "Uh huh. For you. I hope they fit."

Gin game him a small smile, careful of her split lips. She took the bag and reached inside, taking out the pants and shirts, along with the socks. She looked at him with relief. "The gods have surely blessed me," she said jokingly.

"Oh, yeah? How do you figure?" he asked.

"I've been saved from Hell by a con with a heart." One corner of her mouth kicked up. "I think we'll get along just fine."

"Jack said you know your way around Slam, too," he said, regarding her carefully.

Gin clenched her jaw and looked down into the bag in her hands. She nodded slowly before looking up at him. "Yeah. I did my time, most of it, in any case."

"Escapee, right. Like me."

"Yeah. I was there for a while. Four years. I found Jack lookin' for my brother and my sister. I was twenty-four when they locked me up. I was in the pit most of the time I was there." She didn't look like she wanted to talk about it much. "You were in the pit, too, weren't you? That's why you got the shine job."

Riddick pushed his goggles up. He didn't need them in the ship's dark interior. "Yeah. That's why."

"I'm glad you got out," she murmured. Then she turned on her heal and walked into the other room leaving him alone, thinking about what she'd said and what it might mean.

------

In the other room, G-n pulled off Riddick's baggy t-shirt and pants along with her boots and socks and underwear. She tossed the rumpled clothes in the bag and pulled on the clean pants and shirt. Perfect fit. Riddick had a good eye. She tugged on clean socks and her boots then left the room. Riddick was nowhere in sight, but she saw his clothes in a pile on the floor and guessed that he must have bought himself something as well. The door was open and she stepped out into the sun. It was bright; brighter than on Trys-Ornay, or anywhere else she'd been and her eyes burned. She wished she had a pair of goggles like Riddick's.

Shading her eyes from the sun, Gin glanced around. Riddick was on top of the ship looking around. She climbed up to him easily enough, but regretted it when she got there, feeling exhausted from the effort. He was dressed much the same as her, all black from tank top to cargo pants to boots. His muscled physique glistened under the hot sun and Gin fought the need to lick him again. 

Riddick smelled and heard Gin before he saw her. "I have something else for you," he said, not looking at her.

"What's that?"

"Go look in the other bag. It's by the pilot's chair."

Gin reluctantly climbed back down from the ship's roof and walked inside, her eyes instantly relieved. She found the bag he was talking about and inside was a toothbrush. She sat on the floor just staring at it, almost in disbelief. Than she laughed to herself and stumbled into the bathroom. She turned on the tiny sink and found the toothpaste, then she brushed her teeth with the same sort of relish one might savor good food or wine. She must have sat there brushing her teeth for ten minutes before Riddick came looking for her and found her happily foaming away.

He laughed at her and she spit out her mouthful of toothpaste to grin at him with now white teeth, her strange canines glowing mintily. "Oh, God, Riddick," she said a little breathlessly. "After so long in that cell, with no hygiene, you have no idea how wonderful that felt. I thank you wholeheartedly." She reached up and touched his jaw tenderly. Realizing what she'd just done, she pulled away.

They stared at each other for a moment and then Riddick reached out and grabbed her, mindful of her ribs. He pressed her against his chest with his hands on the small of her back. Her hands rested on his chest and she stared up at him. He then lowered his begoggled head and kissed her, brushing his lips against hers hungrily. She groaned and he growled and deepened the kiss, taking her mouth fiercely, his tongue thrusting between her lips.

She ran her tongue along his lips and teeth and wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers over his shaved head.

Riddick pushed her back against the wall and lifted her up until her feet were clear off the ground. She wrapped her legs around his hips and felt how much he wanted her through their pants. She ground herself against him and he sucked in a harsh breath. They stared at each other for a moment and she pushed his goggles away, wanting to see his eyes.

They were intense, the silver orbs reflecting her face. Their breathing was labored, hearts pounding loudly in the silence. Gin was sure he could smell her desire because she could smell his. Her ribs and back were throbbing but she didn't care.

Keeping his eyes on hers, Riddick lowered his head again a fraction of an inch, letting her make the next move. She growled and pulled his head down to hers, kissing him deeply. She slid her mouth away from his and bit his neck then soothed the supposed wound with her tongue, licking him as she'd wanted to do since early that morning. Then she put her tongue to the cut below his eye, licking away the blood and salt of his skin. 

Riddick pulled away from her. "Not here," he ground out from between his teeth. "This deserves a better place than a dirty bathroom sink in my rat hole of a ship."

He lowered her until her boots were planted firmly on the floor and they gathered together the rest of the ship's supplies that he hadn't left at his shack. He guided her to the little building and once they were inside he pushed his goggles up and grinned at her wolfishly.

She dropped the bag she was holding and stepped towards him, grinning as well.

She knew what she was doing, and with who, and she didn't care.


	5. Riddick’s Welcome Wagon

****

5. Riddick's Welcome Wagon

With a throaty, spine tingling growl Riddick leapt at Gin and lifted her up the length of his rock hard body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and he carried her to a wide mattress laying on the floor by the wall.

Riddick growled again as Gin bit his neck, sucking gently and then laved it with her tongue. He dropped to the mattress, rolling so she would land on top and she straddled his thighs. Gin purred as he slid his hands roughly over the backs of her thighs and then cupped her buttocks. He squeezed, pulling her into him, letting her feel him.

Then he took her mouth in a deep, mind blowing kiss. His teeth nibbled her lips and then he slid his tongue over the edges of her teeth, tasting her. He savored the minty flavor like a starving man would a feast. 

"You're wearing too many clothes," he groaned, and she obligingly began to peal off her shirt. She threw it over her shoulder, not caring where it landed. He grinned. "Getting better."

"Oh, yeah?" she said. "How 'bout you?" She grabbed his black tank top in two fists where it was tucked into his pants and pulled upwards. It wouldn't budge because he was laying on it. "I can't get it off," she grumbled. "You'll have to lift up."

Riddick grinned and shook his head. "No way. You'll just have to think of something." He slid his hands over her bound ribs carefully, his grin fading. "They beat you."

She paused and stared into his goggled eyes. She didn't like not being able to read his expression and she reached for them, pushing them away from his face. They fell away from his eyes and laid behind his head. "Yeah. They did."

His large fingers drifted over a yellowish bruise on her right shoulder that was accentuated by a nasty looking cut, where the skin had split. "I killed most of them. They shouldn't have done that to you."

Gin dipped her head and kissed him long and deep. "Thanks for getting me out of there, Riddick," she said pulling away a bit.

He groaned and pulled her head back down to his, feeling her fingers slide into his pocket and remove his shiv. He tensed, ready to spring, but he relaxed when he felt the shiv slide into the neck of his tank top and begin to cut the fabric away from him. When she had the front split wide open she pushed it away from his chest and stomach so she could run her hands over his skin.

"You cut my new shirt," he whispered against her lips.

She put the shiv aside and dipped her head so she could lick his broad chest, purring. "You said I'd have to think of somethin' else. So, I did." She grinned as his chest rumbled with his deep chuckle.

"Guess I was askin' for it then, huh?"

"Yup." Her tongue slid over one hard nipple and he sucked in a breath.

"Okay, no more of this. I can't take it." With that, he rolled her beneath him and pulled off her boots and socks, then he ripped away her pants. He grinned down at her. "You're not wearing any underwear."

Gin lifted her dark brows at him. "I wasn't going to put on those dirty ones again and you didn't buy me any. I've been against underwear for years anyways."

His head dipped and she gasped at the feel of his lips on her most sensitive place. "I'm glad," she heard him murmur, just before his tongue slid into her. 

She clutched the mattress in her fists, digging her nails into the worn fabric as he lifted her legs over his shoulders, getting his mouth even closer to her. "Oh my God..." The groan drifted off into a purr and she shuddered against his mouth. Her climax ripped through her and she felt more than heard his warm laugh.

"And that's just the beginning, baby." Riddick slid up the length of her and stripped off his boots and clothes.

Gin could only stare at him, her mouth slightly parted. "Damn," she choked out. She'd never seen any guy that big before, and Gin had been told she'd seen more than her fair share.

Riddick's lips pulled back away from his teeth and he grinned at her. "Just wait."

Then he was inside of her, hips to hips, chest to breast. Gin cried out and wrapped her legs around his back, pulling him closer. Her hands clutched his shoulders. Unable to resist, she slid her hands over his shaved head and then along his jaw, which was covered in dark stubble.

Riddick looked down at her, his lips slightly parted and his silvery eyes hooded with desire and full of dark heat. "Did I hurt you?" he asked quietly, his teeth clenched together.

Gin was amazed that such a physical man could be so caring, so tender, and have such control. She kissed him with reverence. "Not at all, but if you don't start moving, I'm going to hurt you."

With a sort of roar, Riddick began moving within her. His hips pistoned wildly as he thrust into her, bringing her to climax in a matter of minutes, not once, but twice. Then he laid on top of her, perfectly still, his chest heaving. 

Her muscles pulsed around him and he closed his eyes, waiting for her to calm down, holding on to his control by a thread. "Do you feel that?" He opened his eyes and stared down at her.

Gin concentrated at the feeling of Riddick buried deep inside of her, his flesh melded with hers. She could feel him throbbing inside of her and the sensation made her groan again. "Yes."

"Do you like it?"

"More than I think I should."

His lips twitched. "And why's that?"

"Because now I'm gonna want you to do it all the time." She looked at him.

He nodded slowly as if he were thinking about what she'd said. "I'm not seeing the problem."

She opened her mouth to answer him, but then he was pumping inside of her again. He held her gaze with his, metallic silver locked with wolf silver. 

He brought her to another screaming climax before taking his own release, bucking against her.

When they were spent, he fell on top of her, but quickly rolled over so she law sprawled atop his chest, their bodies still locked together.

Gin lay against him, her breathing labored and Riddick slid his hands over her back. He felt something warm and sticky against his palms and his nostrils flared, picking up the scent of blood.

She groaned at the feel of his hands on her torn back and he pulled them away, looking at them. Blood. The cuts had opened up again from the way she'd been writhing beneath him earlier.

He sat up with a start and held her on his lap. Her expression was a mix of pain, pleasure, and exhaustion. He gritted his teeth. "I _did _hurt you. Why didn't you say anything?"

Gin closed her eyes and sucked a harsh breath between her teeth. "I wanted this more."

Riddick shook his head no. "We shouldn't have done that. Not yet. You're not well, but I didn't care." He tried to stand up, still holding her but she stopped him.

"It was my choice. I didn't care either." He looked away from her and she grasped his face in her hands. "It was my choice," she repeated.

Unable to control himself, Riddick pulled her close, hugging her to him. "You need to sleep. You'll feel better in the morning."

Gin cuddled against his warm chest. "Say you'll stay with me tonight."

"Why?"

Gin lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Because even a lone wolf like me gets lonely sometimes, I guess. 'Cause maybe a lone wolf like you gets lonely, too."

Riddick didn't reply to her statement, which hit a little too close to home. It was why he'd stuck with Jack for as long as he had, but there hadn't been a way he could keep the kid with him, so he'd had to leave her. He'd left her with a young woman that reminded him of Gin and her little brother who was about the same age as Jack. So instead of replying to her statement, he laid down with her, wrapping his arms around her battered body. And he slept.

------

The next morning, Gin woke up to find Riddick gone. She sat up slowly so her scabbed back wouldn't open up a second time, then she began to look for her clothes. Riddick's ripped shirt lay on the floor but his shiv was gone and so were his pants, boots and goggles.

She pulled on her own clothing and went looking for him. It didn't take her long to find him and she walked over to where he stood. He was gathering fuel and power cells for his ship.

When he saw her he grinned widely. "You're up."

She cocked her head to one side and smiled up at him. "Yeah. Sorta. I need to ask you something."

He walked closer to her. "What's that?"

"Jack said you left her with some people when you dropped her off at the minor's camp. Who were they?"

Riddick shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not sure who they were, but the girl, or woman, she was young, was about your height and coloring, so was the boy. Same accent."

Gin smiled. "I don't have an accent. You do," she teased. "What were their names? Do you remember? Jack said they stayed on the planet then left, said they were looking for someone."

Riddick thought for a moment. Then it came to him. "Ven. Ven and Brand. Didn't catch a last name though. Why?"


	6. Fast to Heal, Quick to Temper

****

6. Fast to Heal, Quick to Temper

Riddick took a step towards Gin when he saw the blood drain out of her face. Her golden skin turned deathly white and she dropped to her knees in the dirt, her shoulders slumped.

Unable to comprehend what had just happened to her, he merely stood there, staring at her bent head. Then he was kneeling in front of her, his hands cupping her shoulders. "Gin. What's wrong? What just happened?" He could feel the slight tremor that ran through her body.

She lifted her head slowly and looked at him, her expression unreadable, her gray eyes darkened to almost black. "Ven? And Brand? Are you sure that's what their names were?"

"Yeah, sure enough. I left Jack with them." He searched her face carefully, tried to pick up on her emotions, but they were strangely sheltered from him. 

"How did they look?"

"How do you mean?" he asked her.

"Were they well? Beat up? Hungry? Damn it, Riddick, were they well!?"

Riddick surprised himself by rearing away from her sudden outburst. The last part of her question had come out a primal sort of roar, her teeth bared. She'd even risen up high on her knees so she'd seemed to suddenly grow a half foot in height.

She slumped back down. "I'm sorry," she whispered, head bent down once more. "It's not your fault. I never should have... but I had to. Otherwise..." she trailed off, not completing her thought.

He laid his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. "They looked fine. Strong, like you. She has different hair than you and so does the boy, but otherwise, they look like you." He smiled at her. "Except, of course, for the major injuries and bandages."

She nodded, not smiling like he'd hoped. He didn't understand his need to make her smile. His need to make her happy. For one thing, he didn't know anything about her, except Jack had said she could help him. For another, he'd never felt like this for anyone. But he was feeling it now. He hadn't thought he could ever become attached to someone, but Jack had proven him wrong.

After leaving Imam at New Mecca, they'd been together for four months. Planet hopping. Then he'd gone and gotten spotted by a merc. No good, that. So he'd left Jack with the two miner siblings on Dres and went looking for the woman Jack said could make him disappear. He hadn't told Ven and Brand much about the trouble he was in, where he was going, who he was looking for, or when he'd be back. They'd said they'd look after Jack until she got settled, but couldn't make any promises for anything permanent. They were miners, and they never stayed in one place long.

That had been over a year ago. "Who are they?" he finally asked Gin.

With a groan, Gin pushed herself to her feet, stumbling weakly, and he swept her up into his arms. She stiffened and pushed against his chest. "I can walk," she stated.

"And I can carry you." His voice was deeper and more gravely than usual, brooking no argument.

"Fine," she grumbled. "Carry me, slave." She yelped as he dropped her to the ground with a thud.

She sat on her butt in the dust, looking up at him, teeth bared in feral a manner. 

"No one calls me 'slave'," he growled, his own teeth bared.

With speed Riddick didn't even see Gin possessing in her injured state, he found his feet knocked out from underneath him. Before he could roll back up she was on him, her knees in his chest. And she had a blade to his throat. His blade to be specific, and he hadn't a clue how she'd gotten it out of his waistband and to his neck.

"And no one tells me what I can do and can't do, Riddick." Her teeth were fully bared, and he saw that they weren't just a little canine like. The long, white fangs seemed to have grown, and he didn't wonder that maybe they had done just that. Then she was off of him and on her feet, the shiv on the ground beside his head. "I wanted to walk. I'll walk."

With that, Gin turned on her boot heal and stalked back into his cabin. He more than half expected her to slam the tin door, but instead she closed it very calmly, which seemed even worse to him.

When he finally went inside after her, ten minutes later, she was sitting cross-legged on the mattress. Her boots, socks, and the bandages that had been around her ribs all lay on the floor beside her. The bandages had been neatly cut off and he wondered what she'd used to do that. She didn't look at him, didn't even acknowledge his presence with so much as a sniff. He thought maybe she was ignoring him, but upon closer inspection he saw that she was in deep meditation. He wished he could drop everything like that and just relax for once.

Her eyes suddenly flashed open and she gasped, holding her throat. He leapt at her, grabbing her shoulders. She rolled using the leverage she had in her position and his weight that he'd thrown at her to her advantage, launching him over her head and into the wall. He slammed into it with a thud, the breath knocked out of him and landed on his back with a grunt.

Riddick rolled onto his stomach and looked at her. She was crouched about three feet away, but for once her teeth weren't bared at him, and she wasn't growling. That was a plus, he decided wryly.

"Damn it, Riddick, you can't sneak up on me like that. I could have killed you."

He pushed himself upright. "You didn't seem to object to that very idea outside a few minutes ago," he said, rubbing his bruised stomach. She'd shoved her feet into it when she'd launched him into the wall. That had been her leverage.

She stood up and brushed off the seat of her pants. "If I'd wanted to kill you out there, I would have."

He knew she wasn't bragging. It had been the truth. He'd been underestimating her because of her injuries. _And_, he admitted to himself, _because she was a woman_. He'd stop sneaking up on her, he decided. And he'd stop underestimating her under any circumstances.

"I thought you were choking to death. One second you're quiet and the next your gasping for breath and grabbing your throat. What was I supposed to do? Let you choke to death?" He was indignant. It didn't help when she burst out laughing, clutching her ribs.

"Stop!" she gasped. She continued to laugh, loud belly laughs that filled the small room. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she laughed. He wasn't feeling well. No one had laughed at him before. Ever.

"Why are you laughing at me?" he growled.

Gin sucked in a couple deep breaths and attempted to compose herself. She finally succeeded to some point and looked at him semi-seriously. "I'm not laughing at you," she insisted. "I'm laughing toward you."

His lips twitched. "Okay. Why are you laughing 'toward' me?"

"Because first I threw you against the wall when you tried to help me, and then you acted hurt. The great, evil, escaped bad ass con Richard B. Riddick was indignant because he actually tried to help someone and then got his ass whomped on." She started laughing again.

"I didn't get my ass whomped on. You took me by surprise."

"Only because you took me by surprise." She became serious very suddenly. "Look, Riddick. I'm sorry. About this, about a few minutes ago, about everything. About all the trouble you went to get me out of that hell hole back there. It's just... I'm not used to anyone giving a shit about me and then you save my ass. I don't know how to act. No one has cared about me in over six years." Gin shoved an impatient hand through her blonde hair, throwing the short strands into spikes.

"No one has cared about me in a lot longer than that."

"I know."

He looked into her troubled eyes. "You never told me who they are."

She cocked her head to the side. "Who?"

"Ven and Brand. Who are they? Are they from Trys-Ornay?"

"Yeah. They're my little brother and sister. Ven and Brand Wolf. We're family. At least we were." She sat back down on the mattress beside him. Then she shot him a sidelong glance. "My ribs are better."

He frowned. "Can't be. There were at least four broken ones and more than that were bruised or cracked."

"I told you, I heal fast." She lifted the hem of her shirt, exposing her ribs to his gaze.

He pressed his fingers against them tentatively. She didn't flinch. Even the bruising was gone. He checked her shoulder. The cut was almost gone and the bruise was completely absent. "Legs?" he asked.

She nodded. "Them, too."

He leaned in close, examining her face. Lips weren't split anymore. Black eyes were gone. So was the bruising on her cheeks and jaw. "Your back?" he questioned.

She shook her head. "No. Not those. They're still too fresh from last night."

He dipped his head. "I'm sorry."

"I told you not to be sorry, so don't be. You've seen how I get when I don't get my way." She smiled at him.

"Yeah. You get down right bitchy." He smiled back.

"And don't you forget it." Then her expression became serious and she bent her head to look at his throat. She'd drawn blood when she'd pressed the shiv against his neck, marring the dark caramel of his skin. "Shit, Riddick, I cut you. Now _I'm_ sorry."

"We're even then," he murmured, transfixed by her soft blonde hair. He sucked in a deep breath when he felt her tongue flick out and licked the blood from his skin. "Don't do that."

Gin pulled back and looked him in the eye. "Why not?"

"Because I don't want to hurt your back again," he growled.

She smiled. "Mmmm. Is that the only reason?" He nodded. "Good. Then we'll just have to put you on the bottom this time."

And then neither of them were worrying about anything anymore, except making the other one happy.


	7. Split

****

7. Split

**__**

One Year and Seven Months Earlier

It was dark when Jack and Gin parted. Gin had given up on finding whoever she'd been waiting for and Jack had heard that her hero was being put on ship back to slam. A ship that was leaving from the nearest spaceport in two hours, and Jack meant to be on it. The ticket had been expensive, but Jack was a shifty little pick-pocket and not a half bad cat burglar, so she'd had just enough money put up for her fair. At least she did after she'd sold what little personal belongings she still had from home. She hadn't told Gin why she was taking the _Hunter-Gratzner_, though. Hadn't told her that her hero was Richard B. Riddick.

"You're sure you'll be aight, kid?" Gin asked again as she walked Jack to the spaceport.

Jack raised a dark brow. "For the twentieth time, Reese, yeah. I'll be fine. I've been planet hopping for two years now."

"I know. Doin' it since you were... what? Twelve? I get it. Doesn't mean I'm not going to worry about you. You remind me of someone I once knew, and he could take care of himself aight, too. Didn't mean I didn't worry."

"Are you going to be okay?" Jack questioned.

"What sort of question is that?"

"A fair one, I think. I've never been caught, except by you. You've spent most of the last seven years in a slam."

"Aight. Fair 'nough. I'm gonna be fine."

"Goin' to start looking again?" Jack knew the answer, but she asked anyway. She held up her hand to still Gin's reply for a moment and darted into the crowd, staying in Gin's sights as she carefully slammed into a well dressed man heading in the opposite direction, making sure she looked like she wasn't paying attention.

She sprawled on the ground losing her small pack and knocking her hat off. An extra pair of socks, the sleeve of a jacket, and a worn, leather bound book with no writing on its cover fell out of the pack, and Jack scurried to pick them up as the man bent to help.

"I'm s-s-sorry, m-m-mister," Jack stuttered jerkily.

"My fault, son. Let me help you with that." The guy picked up the pack and then the book. He pushed the book and the jacket sleeve back inside the pack and handed it over to Jack kindly. Jack pulled her hat back on and picked up her socks in her left hand and stepped closer to the man than necessary to take her pack from him with her right.

He didn't notice as she dropped the socks again and carefully reached into the pocket of his loose jacket to snatch his wallet. Jack stifled the guilt she felt at stealing from someone that was obviously a decent enough guy, but put it under her list of many other necessary evils. She'd drop the wallet at the lost and found before she boarded the _Hunter-Gratzner_, knowing a guy in clothes like that wouldn't miss whatever creds she took. 

Jack took the pack and kept her other hand at her side, out of sight. "Th-thanks, m-mister," Jack stuttered again. No one ever blamed a skinny kid with a stutter when things went wrong, or when wallets went missing. The man smiled and headed past her and Jack bent to collect her socks again, stuffing them in her bag.

Gin walked up to her and they watched the man's retreating back for a moment before Gin said anything. "Smooth, kid. What'd ya get?"

Jack opened the wallet and glanced inside. "Holy shit!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"There's four-thousand creds in here!"

"Christ, Jack. You often hit lucky with big-wheels like that?"

"Hell, no. Most I've ever gotten is five hundred. Damn. I'm set for a while!" Jack pulled the creds out of the wallet and stuffed them in her pants pocket. "C'mon. I gotta turn this wallet over to the lost and found."

"Aw, a thief with a conscience," Gin mocked, following Jack to a long counter.

Jack laughed. "Damn straight."

Stepping up the counter, Jack smiled nervously for the lady that stood on the other side. "I f-found this w-w-wallet on the g-ground, m-miss."

The lady smiled gently at what she thought was an unfortunate young boy. "That's very honest of you, honey. I'll keep it here until someone claims it. Thank you."

"N-no p-p-p-problem."

Gin stood back a ways, and laughed when Jack came to her side. "That's p-p-p-pathetic, Jack."

"Yeah. I know. But no one ever blames the skinny kid with the bad stutter. Especially an honest one that drops the wallet off at the lost and found instead of just trashing it."

"You're right. C'mon, then. Gate 409-C, right?"

Jack nodded and looked up at the signs hanging form the ceiling. Wing C was forward a ways and to their left. "That way," she said pointing.

"Aight. I'll walk you the rest of the way, then I'm gone."

Jack walked beside Gin as far as security would allow before having to show her ticket to the gate guard.

"Guess this is the end of the line, kid. Maybe we'll meet up again someday." Gin smiled wryly and Jack knew she didn't believe they'd ever see each other again.

"Yeah. Maybe," she said anyway. She stiffened slightly when Gin gave her a sudden hug, squeezing her tight. Jack finally brought her arms up and hugged the woman back, realizing she'd been craving some sort of physical contact like that for a long time. They stood like that until the guard coughed slightly, remind them of his presence. They stepped apart and Gin ran a hand through her short hair, causing Jack to grin when the blonde strands stood up on end along the finger-plowed path.

"Be decent, kid," Gin said, grabbing the bill of Jack's hat and tugging down over her eyes.

"Be lucky," Jack replied.

"Hope so. Good luck, Jack."

"You too. If you ever find them, whoever they are, look for me, all right? I'd like to meet whoever it is that can get someone like to you care so much."

Gin didn't say anything for a minute, and then she nodded. "Yeah. Aight. I'll look for you. Be waiting for me, okay?"

"Sure thing, Reese."

Gin smiled and saluted Jack mockingly then turned on her heal and melted into the crowd. Jack followed her with her eyes as long as she could, but lost her after a few short seconds. Gin had always been good at disappearing, it seemed.

"You comin', kid? Or do you just want to stand at the gate until your ship leaves?"

Jack snapped back to attention. "Uh, yeah. Sorry."

Jack handed the guy her pack and he ran it through the scanner. Finding no weapons in it, he handed her pack and ticket back to her after she passed through the body scanner. 

Patting her pockets to make sure that the creds were still there, Jack headed for the boarding gate. She showed a woman in a blue uniform with short, light blonde hair her ticket.

"Everything looks good," the woman said. "Go ahead and board. We'll give you your locker assignment when it's time."

"Thanks," Jack replied and stepped past the woman into the ship. The interior of the Hunter-Gratzner was dimly lit, and Jack walked carefully to a row of chairs bolted to the hull. A couple other passengers were already sitting in the seats, and it was obvious most of them had checked their bags. 

Jack picked a seat and put her pack underneath it, strapping it securely to the floor with the cargo-cords she found there.

Seat picked and bag stowed, Jack decided to check out the cryo-lockers. She'd been in cryo-sleep once before. When she ran away from her foster home she'd had to take a long trip from her home planet. Seven months in a cryo-locker, she'd been disoriented and lost on a strange world. Jack had never been off planet before that, and waking up in what seemed like the same day only seven months later had thrown her off her axis, making her feel like she'd been time traveling without knowing it. She'd hated it and decided she'd never do it again if she could help it. She wanted to see what she was cruising through.

The cryo-lockers were arranged just like the seats in the take-off cabin, pressed back against the walls. There was a section designated for the crew, but the rest were open, awaiting their passengers. All but one.

One of the cryo-lockers already held a passenger. He was surrounded in pale blue light, and what looked like a motion sensor beam had turned the top of his shaved head a dim red.

"Riddick," Jack breathed. 

Printed in large block letters across the top door of the cryo-locker it said "Lockout Protocol: No Early Release."

"Really don't want you gettin' out, do they?" she whispered, stepping closer. She felt a thrill go through her at being so close to the infamous killer. She jumped back when Riddick suddenly shifted in his locker, leaning forward the tiny bit allowed by his restraints. He seemed to grin around the bit locked painfully in his mouth and Jack found herself smirking back.

She stepped forward and placed her hand flat on the glass. "I'm going to get you out."


	8. The Truth About Gin: Part One

****

8. The Truth About Gin: Part One

Gin stretched luxuriously, a purr erupting from her throat. Riddick was straddling her bare thighs, his hands planted on either side of her body and his tongue on her skin. He licked a line from the base of her back to the base of her neck. Her skin was raised in the places where the whip had shred her skin.

"You like that?" he growled, sliding his tongue along the length of one particularly long gash. They were close to healing, but most of them were still angry and red looking. "Will these heal all the way, or will you have scars?"

"Yes, and sort of. They'll heal mostly but there will be slight scarring." Riddick growled and licked another wound. "You remind me of a big cat," she said.

Riddick made a sound akin to a growl and a purr. "Panther," he drawled. "You remind me of a cross between a wolf and a smaller cat."

Gin rolled over beneath him. "Smaller cat? I'm doubting you meant the domestic type, though."

Riddick shook his head. "Hell, no. Far from domestic. I was thinking... leopard. Smaller but equally dangerous. But you'd have to be a black leopard."

"Even though I'm blonde?" she questioned.

He nodded. "Yeah. Even though you're blonde." He kissed her then. "We have to get out of here tonight."

Gin looked into Riddick's silvery eyes. "Where is it we're going?"

"I'm not sure. Away from here. The Company must be on my trail by now, after I broke you out of that place. Who were those guys anyway? They weren't Company Rangers."

A guarded look slid over Gin's eyes and she put her hand on Riddick's chest, pushing him away gently so she could sit up. He watched her as she thought. He could almost hear the gears cranking in her brain.

"No, not Rangers. They had a score with me though."

"What did you do that they locked you up like that?" Riddick searched her face, but when questioned or disturbed it was obvious Gin clamed up her emotions rather efficiently.

With a sigh, Gin tried to explain what happened. "When I got out of Slam, I had no money. All I had was a scrap-shitty Prowler and some canned beans. Along with a half empty water canteen I made my way to the Aries System.

"It wasn't a pretty place. Not like home, but I was able to get some bounty jobs and took up being a sort of... well, to be a blunt, I was a bounty hunter. I made some cash and was able to look for Ven and Brand at the same time."

Riddick frowned at her. "Bounty hunter?" he drawled.

Gin's eyes narrowed. "Don't look at me that way. I didn't do like Company men. I was decent to all my prisoners. Mostly 'cause I knew what they were going through. It was a job, not my life.

"Anyway," she continued. "I ended up lockin' up a guy that had some nasty friends. I wasn't able to get him all the way to a bounty check-in point so I went halves with a friend. He paid me half of what the guy was worth from his own pocket on the spot and then took the entire bounty himself to make up for it.

"Like I said, the guy I locked up had some friends. They found me and when I wouldn't tell them where their man was and who'd taken over the job for me, they beat me up. I got lucky when you found me. I would be one of three things right now if you hadn't."

"What three things?" Riddick asked.

Gin lifted her dark brows. "Well, I'd either be getting the shit beat out of me right now, unconscious, or dead. I was personally opting for unconscious at the time you got me, but could only hope for dead."

Suddenly the guarded expression was back in Gin's eyes. "I never did ask you, Riddick, why you got me out of there. You learned of me from Jack, but what was it she told you about me? What did she say that made you come after me?"

"You made yourself disappear. The Company hasn't come after you. She said you could make me disappear, that you could get me a new identity."

Gin was silent for awhile. "I can't help you, Riddick. I have to find my brother and sister."

Riddick grabbed her shoulders. "I will help you find them. But you have to make Richard B. Riddick dead to the universe."

"You'll help me, if I help you? Scratch your back and you'll scratch mine?"

Riddick grinned slyly. "Or lick."

Gin grinned back. "Or lick," she agreed.

"Are we agreed?" he asked then.

"Yeah, we're agreed. I'll lick you're back and you'll lick mine." They grinned at each other.

"There's just one catch, Gin," Riddick said.

"What?"

"You have to tell me all about you and how you got thrown in Slam. I need to know who my allies are."

Gin nodded. "All right. But I deserve the same, Riddick. And you need to come up with a name if you want a new identity. If you want me to think of something you might get a name you don't like so much."

Riddick chuckled. "Okay. Fair's fair. We'll trade stories and I'll think of a new name. Get going, Gin."

Gin took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Okay, all about me." And so she began the tale that was her life.

------

**__**

Twelve Years Earlier

Gin crouched behind the small ship that belonged to her parents. Just an hour earlier she'd found her younger sister and brother hidden there among a pile of supplies, shaking and afraid.

Ven had told her that the Rangers had come for their father. He'd killed some Rangers when they'd tried to rape their mother and she'd been pregnant with Brand. Now they'd found them. It hadn't been easy either. Trys-Ornay was no small planet and the people had a way of disappearing into the woodwork, or rather, the woods.

But the Company had found them and now Reese and Drake Wolf were dead. Ven said they'd fought, killed six Rangers, but the other fourteen had shot them with big guns. 

"Mama and Daddy took them down, Gince," Ven explained hurriedly. "While Daddy fought, Mama hid me and Brand in the ship with some stuff to watch over until you came home. Then she went after Daddy. But they got her, Gince. They killed them both. Mama and Daddy are dead."

Gin knew she couldn't leave the kid there with the baby, so she'd tied ten-month old Brand to her back, grabbed eleven year old Ven by the hand, and ran. She ran for half an hour, dragging her sister along with her. When they got to the cave Gin had slept in while she was gone, she'd left them there, with the supplies from the ship. Then she'd gone back, running even faster without her sister tagging along.

When she'd gotten back the Rangers had loaded their comrades bodies onto their transport ship and anything else in the house they had liked. At that moment, Gin had realized why her mother had hidden things below the floor boards all those months ago. She'd known this was going to happen. That's what the vision she'd heard her parents talking about had been.

The Rangers were gone now and still she huddled behind the ship. Her nostrils flared and she sniffed the air tentatively. No one was there. Her parents bodies laid on the dirt where they'd fallen, hole ridden and bloody, covered in dust that had been kicked up from the Company transport when it took off.

Gin finally pulled herself away from the ship and grabbed a shovel out of the shed. Then she dug. She dug until her arms throbbed, her back ached, and her chest burned. Her shoulders screamed at her to stop the torture, and still she dug. Her callused hands couldn't handle the strain and began to bleed, making the shovel handle slick and hard to hang on to. To keep her grip, Gin grabbed a rag out of the shed and ripped it in half, then she wrapped the halves around her palms and kept digging. She ended up digging herself into a ten foot deep hole big enough for two people. She dug until she collapsed on the shovel and passed out in total exhaustion.

When Gin came to it was morning and the sun was pouring over her back. She was sweaty, dirty, and her hands and arms were covered in blood from digging her palms raw. 

Now, she wrapped her parents in sheets from their bed and laid them side by side in the grave she'd dug. She was only eighteen and she was burying her parents already. Then she started covering them with dirt. It was exceptionally easier than digging the grave had been initially.

When they were buried she realized she'd allowed herself to become dehydrated and went to the kitchen sink. She lapped water from the tap like a man left stranded in the desert for a year, sucking the cool liquid into her parched throat. 

With the burial of her parents done, she gazed out the kitchen window at the grave and then headed back outside. Gin made a tombstone from rocks. She laid two large round rocks at the head, side-by-side. Then she laid a ring of stones around the double grave. When that was done she planted two pine saplings on the grave, then doused them with water. They'd have to find their own way now, she thought sadly. Just as she would have to find her own way.

Taking clothes and as much food as she could carry on her strained back, she headed back to Ven and Brand. She was tired. So tired that when she got to them she dropped the supplies off her back, opened her mouth to say something and collapsed.

She'd been off hunting when her parents had been killed. She'd killed three big deer, gutted them and headed home to have her father help her bring them home before the bears got to them. She'd been gone for three days, mostly without sleep. Coming home to find her parents dead had drained what was left of her strength.

She woke up two days later. Ven was cooking over a small fire, a thatch roof diffusing the smoke so it couldn't be spotted from the air. Brand lay on a blanket amusing himself with some river stones that he alternately sucked and threw around.

Ven looked up to see her sister stirring and rushed over to her. "Gince, are you all right? When you came back and fell over I thought you were dead. You scared me shitless!"

Gin groaned and sat up, pushing herself upright with her hands. Her palms burned and she looked down at them curiously. Ven had wrapped them and blood had seeped through the white bandages. "I'm sorry. I was just so tired..." she trailed off.

Ven shook her head and then, spontaneously, threw herself at her sister, wrapping her arms around her waist and burying her face in her chest. Sobs wracked her small body and Gin held her tight. A single tear slipped out of the corner of her eye as she held her sister close, tracking a muddy trail down her dirty cheek.

"What are we gonna do without them, Gince?" Ven asked, lifting her tear streaked face from Gin's shoulder.

Gin looked down at her. "We're gonna be okay, Ven. I'm gonna take care of you and Brand. Don't you worry about anything."

"I miss Mama and Daddy," Ven whispered somberly.

"Yeah," Gin whispered back. "I miss them, too. That's why I'm gonna get revenge, Ven. The Company is gonna pay."

After that, everything went smoothly enough. Gin took Ven and Brand to another planet in the Ornay system. Crip-Ornay wasn't much different from Trys-Ornay as far as scenery went. The three siblings slipped into an easy routine. Gin and Ven built a small cabin out in the woods. 

The years went by with Gin making friends with other settlers out of Trys. They were friendly to their own but outsiders were shunned. That's what kept them on Crip. No one was able to find them. The Rangers had heard that Drake had kids and they'd come looking for them. But hidden on Crip, they hadn't been found. Yet.

Brand grew up strong and feral like his older sisters. Ven had Gin's looks, but opted to grow her hair long instead of keeping it in the short spikes that Gin preferred. Brand was a throw back to their father, with his black hair and golden eyes. All three had dark golden skin.

Then Gin was twenty-three and making money any way she could. Some were good, honest ways. Most weren't. On one of her trips she ran into some Rangers in a bar. They were familiar but she passed it off as to the fact that after a while all Rangers began to look alike.

Then they'd approached her. "Hey, there, pretty lady," the first Ranger had said.

Gin looked up at him, not saying anything. The second Ranger leaned over her. "Why don't you come with us?" he said suggestively.

Gin grabbed the front of his jacket and pulled his face level with hers, baring her teeth. "Don't touch me, jackass," she growled. Then she pushed him away roughly, knocking him in the back.

"Bitch!" the first Ranger said. He pulled back his fist and tried to hit her. 

She dodged his wild fist and pulled her blade. The whole thing had ended with Gin killing the two Rangers with her knife. She'd killed the three others that had jumped her after realizing what had happened. They weren't much of a challenge drunk off their asses like they were.

No one else had bothered her about it. They all hated the Company, too. It was then that she'd realized the two first Rangers had been at her house five years earlier, gunning down her parents. She spit on their faces and left.

A few months later, after Gin had just turned twenty-four, they'd found her, Ven and Brand at their place in Crip-Ornay. Then the real trouble began.

------

Gin paused in her story and looked Riddick in the eye. She tugged one of the blankets Riddick had dug out of an old trunk around her shoulders tightly. "I need to get dressed, Riddick."

Riddick took a deep breath. "Yeah. Me, too. You can tell me more later. For now, let's just get out of here."


	9. On The Way To Nowhere

****

9. On The Way To Nowhere

Gin stood under the hose and scrubbed herself down with a bar of soap. She tipped back her head and stared up into the night sky, the triple moons gleaming at her from their heavenly heights.

The water was cold and she hurriedly washed her dirty hair and then screwed a nozzle on the hose end so she could power wash the soap out of her hair. Riddick grabbed the hose from her and sprayed himself down. She watched appreciatively as he rinsed the suds from his skin.

He looked up and caught her watching him. "See somethin' you like, leopard lady?"

She nodded slowly. "Oh, yeah," she replied in a low voice, her eyes sliding up and down the length of his body.

"Too bad we have to leave in a minute or I'd let you touch, too. Quit lookin' at me like I'm a hunk of meat or we'll never get off this planet." His silvery eyes were locked on her as he finished spraying off the soap. She looked damn good naked. Too damn good.

She grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, sexy."

Riddick groaned. "Go get dressed, leopard lady."

Gin slid him another sly grin before grabbing a makeshift towel he'd thrown on the water tank earlier and sliding into the cabin, wrapping the towel around her shoulders. Riddick waited to go inside until he was completely dried off. When he entered the cabin Gin was pulling on her boots, her blonde hair standing up in disheveled spikes all over her head. He lifted a dark brow. 

She frowned at him and shoved her fingers through the soft spikes. "You'd think having short hair would make things easier."

He grinned and rubbed the top of his head. "You just didn't cut it short enough," he teased.

She shook her head. "I think your head is sexy, but I'm not going as far as Jack."

"Does she still shave her head and wear those broken goggles?" he asked.

Gin raised her brows. "That little girl idolizes you. She still shaves her head, but she got some new goggles. Just like yours. I wish I hadn't lost mine."

Riddick searched her face curiously, looking into her eyes. "I didn't even think that the sun would hurt your eyes. I forgot yours are hypersensitive."

She nodded. "Yeah. That's why I wanted to wait to leave until dark, so I wouldn't have to walk in this sun. It's a real killer on the retina. To make matters worse, my eyes are more sensitive that most people's from Trys."

"Why's that?"

"When I was about five or six, my parents were forced to hide me in the forest on our home planet. The Company has always hated Trysians and they raided our village before my parents went to do the solitary thing.

"All the parents were forced to hide their young children, hoping we'd fare all right until they could come back for us. Unfortunately, it was a longer time than they'd expected. Almost six months.

"Those of us that survived ended up with an even higher rate of sensory perception. It also heightened our mind-over-body control abilities. I can heal a lot faster than most, even those from my planet."

Riddick nodded his understanding. "Maybe being a forest sprite for a while wasn't such a bad thing after all?"

She smiled. "Yeah. Maybe not. It's gotten me this far." She looked at him. "Trys isn't a very bright planet. Only one dim sun, and you spend more than half your life wandering in the woods. This sun sucks."

"Let me get dressed and I'll dig something up for you," Riddick said and grabbed his clothes off the floor. He dropped the towel and began tugging on his black cargos. He caught Gin gazing at him wistfully and looked away quickly, hearing her husky chuckle as he buttoned his pants and tugged on his shirt.

"What did I tell you about looking at me like that?" he chastised.

She just laughed again.

Trying to keep his laugh contained in his throat, he headed for a big wooden trunk shoved up against the wall. He flipped open the lid and dug around in its contents for his other pair of goggles. He found the tinted lenses on the bottom, of course, and tossed them to her across the room.

She eyed them critically. Then, apparently finding them suitable, she tugged them on over her eyes, shading them from the light. "Ahhh..." she sighed. "You have no idea..." she trailed off. "Wait, yes you do. You know exactly how good this feels." She flashed him an appreciative grin.

Riddick looked at her. The goggles made her look even more mysterious, and looked surprisingly good on her. "Yes. I do know. That sun can be a real hindrance."

"As long as I'm shaded, I can see great in the sun. Otherwise I see in shades of bright white and light gray."

He nodded. "Let's get going."

Gin pulled one of the bags they'd packed up onto her shoulder and he hefted up the second one. Both were laden with canned food, jerky, and an assortment of clothes and weapons. "This is heavy," she grunted.

"C'mon. I know you can tough it out."

"I didn't say I couldn't." She took off at a run towards the ship.

Riddick groaned and ran after her. He was good at running. Being an escapee proved that. Didn't mean he _liked_ it.

The arrived at the ship and threw everything on board. Gin slid into the pilot's seat and began starting the ship up. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Riddick asked her.

"Driving. Go to bed. I know where I'm going, and how to fly. You can take over in a couple hours." She gazed at him defiantly, and he realized the ease they'd been living in the past few days was over. She was all business, and she was going to find her family with or without him.

He watched her flipping switches and checking gauges for a few moments before replying. "Fine," he said shortly, and headed into the back to catch some z's.

When he woke up he checked his watch to see how long he'd been out. Seven hours! Damn, how the hell had he slept that long? He rolled off the cot and headed to the front of the prowler in search of Gin. She was still sitting in the pilot's chair, goggles pushed up on her head, eyes focused on some distant goal.

"Gin." He said her name quietly in the dark.

She turned to look at him. "Hm?"

He put his hand on her shoulder. "You've been flying for seven hours. Go get some sleep. You're not completely well yet." He paused. "Are you?"

A sudden look of exhaustion crossed her face and she slumped back against the seat. "No, I'm not."

Riddick scooped her up and carried her to the cot, laying her down gently. "Are the coordinates logged on the flight screen?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah. Just follow those."

"Where are we going?" he questioned.

"The planet you left Jack on. Dres-Aries. She should still be there."

"And if she isn't? Then what? And I don't know if it's such a good idea that she see me."

Gin closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them to look at him. "I'm going. If she's not there, maybe someone else knows something about Ven and Brand. If she's there, you can decide how to deal with her."

"How did you meet Jack?"

With a sigh Gin replied, "About six months after I escaped from Slam, I was in some distant system. It was the sort of place Ven and Brand would have went to. I thought I might find them somewhere in the city. Instead I found Jack." Gin smiled, losing herself in the memory. "Kid tried to pick my pocket. I called her on it and she punched me in the jaw. Reminded me of Brand; all fiery temper and bad ass attitude. 

"We split up at a spaceport six months later. She got on the _Hunter-Gratzner _and I went huntin' for Ven and Brand again.. Then I ran into her after the crash on that freaky planet y'all were stranded on. She said she'd been staying with some folks when you dropped her off, but they'd left about three months earlier. I didn't think anything of it."

Riddick nodded. "Okay. You get some z's now. I'll drive."

Gin seemed to fall asleep immediately and Riddick went to check on their coordinates on the flight screen. They were thirty-six days and seventeen hours from Dres-Aries. Great.

At least that meant he'd have more than a standard month to dig the rest of Gin's past out of her. Setting the ship on auto-pilot he closed his eyes. The alarms were set so if anyone got within a million miles of them, he'd know it.

------

Gin arose to the smell of heating beans, her nose sniffing the air. "Mmm," she groaned. She followed her nose to where Riddick was heating the beans up.

He looked up at her. "Hungry?"

"Does the Pope wear a funny hat?"

Riddick lifted a brow at her curiously. "Pardon?"

"It's an old saying from the twentieth century, give or take a century or so. It means, hell yes!"

He spooned a big helping of the hot beans into a tin bowl and passed it to her, along with a plastic spork.

Gin eyed the strange, pronged spoon curiously. "Is this thing safe to feed myself with?" she asked him.

"I wouldn't know, but it's worth a shot." He raised his spork in a mock toast. "To one 'dead' Riddick and finding your family."

She lifted her spork with a wry smile. "Ditto."


	10. The Truth About Gin: Part Two

****

10. The Truth About Gin: Part Two

"Still hungry?" Riddick asked, dropping his spork into his now empty bowl. Day after day of beans and jerky, but he was still willing to shovel the stuff into his mouth if it meant having a full stomach rather than an empty one. He'd be more than happy when they finally touched down on Dres-Aries, though, and could pick up something, _anything_, other than beans and jerky. They'd been on course for thirty-two days as it stood. More than a month.

__

Please, no more beans, he thought to himself.

"Yeah, but you know about beans right? Too many and. . ." she trailed off, a smile tugging at her lips.

He nodded slowly, his lips twitching. "Yes, I think I understand where you're going with that. Jerky, then?"

Gin smiled at him. "Sure."

Riddick got up and flipped open a storage bin, pulling out a few hunks of dried beef strips. He handed her one. "Enjoy."

She ripped off a piece with her teeth, easily. "No problem. Too bad you don't have my teeth." She flashed her canines.

He frowned and yanked as hard as he could on his own strip, finally wrestling a piece off. "Those are handy, aren't they?" he said around a mouth full of jerky.

She nodded, tearing off another piece and chewing thoughtfully.

Together they finished off their meat in silence, then Riddick watched as Gin slipped far away from him. Her eyes took on a distant look as she stared at something he couldn't see.

"What are you thinking?" he asked her quietly, his voice low.

She jerked out of her trance and looked at him quizzically. "Hm?"

He repeated the question. "Oh, nothing," she replied. "Just about Ven and Brand. Wondering if they miss me, if they want me to even come looking for them. I've been gone a long time, Riddick. Too long." She sought his eyes in the dark, as if hoping he could tell her what to expect.

"I can't tell you what they'll do. I'm not exactly a people person," he answered.

A corner of her mouth lifted wryly. "I gathered as much."

"You aren't either." It wasn't a question.

"Nope. And I never have been. People slow you down. Too easy to get entangled in someone else's problems. I have my own." Her voice was casual and a little cynical.

"Yeah," was all he said, thinking about Jack and how he'd allowed himself to become attached to her, despite himself. That's why he'd left.

Gin shifted suddenly so she was facing him full on. "Do you miss Jack?"

Riddick kept his expression controlled as he thought about how to answer her. "I'm not used to caring about anyone. I guess I liked the kid, but I couldn't be in her life, and she can't be a part of mine. Too dangerous for us both."

She just stared at him. "But do you miss her?"

Riddick didn't like the fact that Gin could see through him. Her senses, he supposed. "Yeah. A little," he admitted reluctantly.

"Was that so hard? Admitting you missed another person?" she asked him, half serious, half teasing.

"Hell yes, it was hard. It meant admitting it to myself." He scowled darkly at her.

She lifted her brows. "Don't worry your little shaved head, Riddick. I won't tell anyone you actually missed a cute, sweet kid. Especially one that adores, idolizes, and would gladly follow you to ends of this universe to the next."

His scowl just got darker and he grabbed their empty bowls, taking them into the bathroom to be rinsed off.

Ignoring his suddenly souring mood, Gin stood and walked to the pilot's seat, checking their position on the monitor. Still four days from Dres-Aries. She growled at that and then plopped down in the chair, staring at the monitor that showed a view of the stars ahead of them. She could just make out a few distant planets to the left. They were green and blue, like Trys and Crip, and she longed for home and its lush forests and rivers.

Riddick suddenly appeared at her side and she glanced up at him. "Spill," was all he said, his voice low and quiet.

She turned away from him and gazed at the stars, that far-away look coming over her face again. "When they found our place," she began quietly, her tone distant, "I wasn't home. Again." Her mouth twisted wryly. "I must really have some timing for deer hunting.

"It was a year after the bar incident, where I killed those Rangers that got our parents. When I got back, Ven and Brand were gone and there was a Company transport with a Ranger insignia on its door parked in the clearing near our house." She shoved a hand through her hair angrily. "I _knew_ something was wrong so I went looking for them.

"I found Ven and Brand cornered by two Rangers, but I was too far away to do anything about it. The first Ranger pointed his rifle at Ven, she was standing between him and Brand, and she jumped forward, dodged the bullet and slit his throat." Her lips pulled into a sadistic, teeth baring grin. "I'd never been more proud," she gritted out between her teeth.

"But Ven wasn't fast enough to get the other guy. He was steppin' back and gettin' ready to pull the trigger when I jumped on him. I snapped his neck.

"After that, everything changed. . ."

------

Gin loaded her younger siblings into their prowler, everything they could carry onboard without being too heavy to take off. Ven sat glowering at Gin in the corner, unhappy that she was being left behind while Gin went off to get the Company off their trail. Brand was held on her lap, his small hands clasping her shirt in an iron grip. He didn't want Gin to go, she was his hero.

After Ven and Gin had killed the two Rangers, Gin had climbed aboard their Company transport and flown it into a ravine. She cut the main fuel line and then threw a match at it as she walked away. The heat of the blast seared her back as she left, ship pieces raining down about her.

Now she sat behind the wheel of the prowler, the little ship being the pride of six years hard work. She hated it but it had to be done if Ven and Brand were going to have any sort of future.

With the flip of some switches and the punching of some buttons, Gin was off for the nearest minor's camp, hoping she could get directions to one a lot farther off than that. She'd heard of a system called Aries, and it was about as far from Trys, both in distance and scenery, that one could get. She'd try to get Ven and Brand there.

It took four months to reach Aries. The planet with the highest population was Dres, so that's where she ended up leaving them.

Brand clutched at her wildly, tears streaking his small, dark face. His silver eyes were almost black with sadness. "D'ya hafta go, Gin?" he asked plaintively.

She bent down and held him away by his shoulders so she could look into his eyes, that were so much like their father's. "Yeah, I do, kiddo. If I don't leave, those bad men will find us and they'll try and kill us like they did Mama and Daddy when you were a baby. If I leave I can keep them away until I figure out a way to make them leave us alone. Then I'll come back for you and Ven."

He launched himself at her and wrapped his small arms around her neck tightly. "Promise?" he whispered in her ear.

"Promise," she replied, and she squeezed him to her tightly, knowing she was going to miss him more than anything in this world. 

When she finally pulled away from Brand's small body, she stood and looked at Ven. She knew her sister was mad about being left behind like this, but it was necessary.

Ven stepped towards her sister. "I don't like this," she said slowly, gazing intently at Gin. "But I realize you know what's best, so I guess I'm all right with it."

Not knowing what to do about the whole situation of leaving, Gin held out her hand for Ven to shake. Ven took it tentatively, then with a sad little sob yanked Gin close and hugged her. 

"Thanks for takin' care of us, sis," she murmured into Gin's neck. "You _will _come back, won't you?"

"You can count on it, Ven. You ain't gettin' rid of me this easy." She pulled back and smiled, glad they were parting on good terms. "I love you guys, both of you. And I'll come looking for you if it means wiping out the Company all by myself."

With a wave and a smile, Gin left Dres-Aries, only hoping she would come back to them someday. She'd left them with almost all the supplies and plenty of cash. _They'd be fine_, she told herself. How she'd be was another question.

A few months passed with Gin planet and colony hopping. She was barely a step ahead of the Company. They were right behind her all the way, and she could feel them behind her. She was often able to smell them close by. Everyone associated with the Company had a distinct smell.

Four months of running, ducking, and hiding, found Gin on a far off planet that didn't even have a name. Just a number; TS-215. Population: Sixty-three and a half, if you counted her. And that's where the Company finally caught her.

With Slam in her near future, Gin tried to escape, fighting with all she had, and taking out three Rangers before being jumped on and taking a pistol whipping in the skull.

She woke up in a make-shift court room. A canvas tent on another numbered planet in the same system, at some shit hole Company base. TS-34, she'd thought she heard a guard mumble when they threw her on the dirt floor, face in the dust.

Holding her head up high, she pushed herself to her feet and looked around slowly, taking in her surroundings. Ten guards, three official Rangers, and someone who looked like a very bored judge.

The bored looking judge took his seat at the front of the tent and set doleful mint green eyes on her. 

"All rise for the honorably Judge Jackson," the Ranger acting as bailiff announced in a bored voice.

Already standing, Gin sat down hard on the ground. One of the guards rushed forward and tried to force her to her feet with a fist in her grungy hair, but merely succeeded in almost losing a finger to her sharp teeth. 

Receiving a backhand to the face for her disrespect, she was knocked sideways and lifted to her feet by three guards. She didn't cooperate and had to be held up until the bailiff said, "You may be seated."

She stood.

The guards stepped away from her when the judge raised his hand, waving them off of her. She bared her teeth at him, but didn't bother to growl.

Jackson shuffled some papers on his dusty table before looking up at her. "Gince Wolf, of Trys-Ornay, daughter of Drake Wolf and Reese Alexen, you have been charged with the crime of brutally murdering..." his voice trailed off as he read and reread the statement saying how many Rangers she'd killed in the past year. "For brutally murdering ten Company Rangers, in cold-blood."

Gin didn't feel the need to say it hadn't been cold-blood. Her blood had been boiling every time she'd dropped one of the bastards for good.

"Do you have anything to say in defense for yourself?" he questioned, lips pressed thin in disapproval.

Gin lifted her arms above her head and stretched lazily, letting out a low rumble as her tense muscles pulled loose from their knots. When she saw the judge looking at her expectantly, the guards going tense at the sound she'd let out, she lifted her brows questioningly. "I'm sorry, you were saying something?"

With an exasperated expression the judge repeated the question. "Lemme think? Okay, I could say I'm sorry, but then I'd be lying." The Ranger bailiff took a threatening step forward and she bared her teeth at him. He froze and she shot him a feral grin. "How 'bout I say, 'Fuck you. You're throwin' me in Slam no matter what the hell I say'?"

Jackson nodded to the bailiff and Gin got her one-way ticket to the slam, where she spent the next four years. 

One pit expedition, three dead guards, two dead fellow prisoners, and a stolen transport later, and Gin was back to her old game. But now she'd learned some new rules. Like how to die only without the dying part. One of the guards she'd killed had been her height and build as well as female. She'd dragged the corpse on board and staged a crashing of the small transport. 

The guard had had some cash credits on her and it was enough to book a transport to a free-settler colony. When she got the time she made the identity Reese Drake. New name, new job, denied her Trys-Ornay origins, and made Gin Wolf disappear in a cloud of smoke. 

At the colony she ended up being a bounty hunter. Sometimes a merc, she earned a quick rep of always getting her man. . . or woman, whatever the case may have been.

She met Jack for the first time almost right after she got out of the slam, and stayed with her for six months. A year later, she was close enough to Dres-Aries to make a jump in that direction. That's where she ran into Jack for a second time.

------

"You know the rest from there. If I'd been able to make it back to Dres three months earlier I would have found Ven and Brand. But I missed them and they could be anywhere by now," Gin finished wearily. "I might never find them," she whispered, her head low. "They might not want me to find them now."

Riddick dropped a heavy, comforting hand on her shoulder. "We'll find them, Gin. And they'll want you back, I'm sure of it."


	11. The Chase Begins

****

11. The Chase Begins

Alec Cross swept the land landscape with a shrewd eye. Tin cabins, tents, and beat up ships used as living quarters. His face scrunched up in disgust. How could people actually live this way?

He'd been trailing Riddick for months now, and he was sure he had him this time. He walked purposefully to the supply store and looked the bored looking man behind the corner in the eye. Well, at least he tried to. The man was absorbed in a nap, of all things in this heat.

Alec wiped his brow with his forearm and prodded the sleeping man with his finger. The man grunted something that sounded like, "Siesta, asshole," shifted in his precarious seat atop his stool, and settled back into dreamland. Alec, deciding the polite approach wasn't working, shoved the man hard with the heal of his palm, knocking him down off his stool.

He found himself suddenly realizing that the polite approach had been the better one when he was faced with the man and the open end of a twelve gauge. The man pumped the weapon, causing a wicked snapping sound to erupt from it.

"You gotta reason for knockin' me down, stranger?" the man drawled, almost casually. Alec wasn't fooled though, the man's voice had a hard, underlying edge.

"I. . . uh. . . didn't mean to knock you down, sir," Alec stammered. The man's golden eyes were wolf-like and Alec was almost certain a low growl was emanating from the man's broad chest. "I just. . . uh. . . wanted to ask you a question."

The man relaxed a little but didn't drop the weapon, but Alec was grateful all the same. "Shoot," the man commanded.

Alec stuck a finger in the collar of his shirt and pulled it away from his sticky neck, as the man casually pulled on a pair of dark shades that had been hanging out of his pants pocket. Glad that the golden eyes were now hidden, Alec got on with his question.

"You seen a man named Riddick around here?" he asked, trying not to sound nervous.

The man slowly lowered the shotgun to his side, still not letting it go, and rubbed his jaw, his fingers making a rasping sound against his stubble. He seemed deep in though. "Nope," he finally said.

The growl was gone, Alec noticed. Or at least what he'd thought was a growl. I must be imagining things, Alec thought. "You're sure? He's kinda hard to miss. Tall, about six foot two. Thick build, shaved head, usually wearing dark goggles."

"Oh," the man said. "Yeah. He lives in the shack at the end of the lane. He's a quiet sort though, dangerous looking, too. I hope you're not going over there to piss him off." The man paused and looked Alec straight in the eye. "He'll kill you."

A cold shiver went down Alec's back, but he hid it from the man, nodded his thanks, and headed down the "lane," as the man had called it.

It was more like the grungy settlers had all agreed to leave a wide path between their shacks. When he got to the end of the lane, he found a well built tin building. Two large water tanks, full, stood at one wall, a hose attached to them.

Alec pushed open the door of the shack, gun drawn, to find it baking hot inside and empty. There was a thick layer of dust on most everything, except for the trunk in one corner and the refrigeration unit in the other. He opened it up. A little cool, but empty as well.

"Damn!" he cursed, kicking at the floor with his booted toe. "I missed him again!"

__

I'll find that sunofabitch if it's the last thing I do, he swore to himself as he stomped angrily across the camp towards his cruiser.

------

The man in the supply shot watched him warily. He knew who Riddick was. He'd also seen who'd been with him when he'd showed up here again. Gin Wolf. 

He had to get word to her somehow, that she and her begoggled friend we're being tracked now, by some slick merc it looked like, too. Gin was Drake's daughter. He owed Drake his life, and Gin had given him a hand more than once back on Crip, before her and her brother and sister had disappeared. And he always owned up to his debts.

------

Jack stood beneath the hot sun on Dres, pulled her dark goggles over her eyes and rubbed the fuzzy stubble on her freshly shaven head.

She surveyed her surroundings with mild distaste. She hated all these dry dusty planets. She wished someone she knew would show up. Sure, she knew most of these people she was working with now, but she didn't like them. 

She missed Riddick, but not like she used to. She missed Ven and she missed Gin. But mostly, she missed Brand.

Jack pushed memories of what she missed out of her head and threw her back into her work, shoving down the pain of being left behind again. She picked at the ground with scraped and dirty fingers, sifted through the sand with a screen bottomed pan, picking out the graphite pieces and throwing them in her bucket.

She found herself praying Brand would come back soon and take her off this dusty planet. She prayed that something would end the torture.

------

The ensuing days with Gin were quiet ones. She didn't seem inclined to talk much. She didn't seem the talkative sort and maybe her story had made her hit her talking quota for the month. From the way she was acting, Riddick wondered if maybe for the year.

Strangely enough, he found himself trying to engage her in conversation. His questions were almost as monosyllabic as her answers, but at least he was trying, he grumbled to himself. He wasn't used to being ignored by people, especially ones he was thrown into close contact with. They always seemed to watch him with a hawk's eye, trying to get him to say anything so they could feel less nervous around him.

Gin was different. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, at least not intentionally. There were a few reasons for that. One, he found himself liking and respecting the woman. Two, he didn't want to find he was still underestimating her the hard way. Riddick knew he was strong enough and fast enough to take out most anyone. Gin knew the same thing about herself.

With her hypersensitive senses she was even more of a threat. She didn't have to be stronger than someone to kill them. She was fast, she could anticipate their moves. Riddick suspected she hasn't said all she could do with that little mind of hers. He realized she could probably pick up on many things before they happened. That would explain her reaction times.

The day before she'd been staring out one of the viewing screens and he'd come up behind her. She'd obviously been deep in though because he'd startled her into dropping her glass of water. She spun around, saw it was him, swooped down and snatched her glass before it could hit the ground and break. Then she'd stood up slowly and taken a long sip, eyeing him curiously over the rim.

Her reaction time had surprised him and he'd almost forgotten what he'd been about to ask her. Her answer had been a simple, "Yeah."

The question didn't matter. That's all he could get out of her lately anyway.

They were only half a day from Dres now. Riddick was uneasy, wondering if Jack would be there. There was no way she'd want to stay behind again and Riddick knew there was no way she could come with them. He hoped she wouldn't be jealous of Gin.

The four months they'd been traveling together, women had often showed interest in a little one-on-one action that didn't include the shaved kid. Jack had almost literally bared her teeth at any potential one-night-stands, effectively cutting Riddick off from the fairer sex. He hadn't cared really. He hadn't needed the hassle or the attachment that came with sex. More than that, he never knew which ones were just in it for the sex and which ones knew who he was and just wanted to get him alone so they could tie him up and send him off to the nearest bounty station for their handsome reward. Or worse yet, straight to the Company for his re-initiation into Slam.

He kept wondering when Gin would start asking question, too. He'd promised her his story in return for hers. She'd spilled. He knew she was just biding her time, though. She wasn't the sort to let him off the hook without payment.

Deciding he'd had enough of her strange silence, he went into the back to find her sitting in meditation on the small cot they shared at night. He'd lay flat on his back and she'd sprawl out across his chest. It was a comfortable way to sleep, he admitted to himself. It was nice having her that close at night. He didn't even have to reach for her if he woke up at night. 

Even in her silence, Gin was active. Knowing better than to just grab her and attempt to shake her out of her trance he called her name quietly. Gin opened her eyes slowly and turned to look at him. She lifted questioning brows.

"I want to know more about your mind control."

She seemed to close in on herself, and he wondered if she maybe didn't trust him with that part of herself.

He wasn't too keen on sharing his bit of sixth sense with anyone either, so he didn't blame her for withdrawing from him.

"Tell me?" he asked.

She nodded. "All right."

Two syllables. _We're making progress_, he thought dryly. "You didn't tell me everything about your control, did you?"

She shook her head no.

"I want to know everything."

"This is going to cost you, Riddick," she said, quite seriously. He knew she was referring to what he'd promised to tell her about himself. Now he was going to have to tell more. He nodded his consent.

She thought for a moment before starting. "Okay. I can't control someone. I can heal myself very quickly. You want to see?"

More progress. "I've seen," he replied, referring to her healing from the beatings she'd gotten.

"That was nothing," she stated. She pulled her blade out of her pants and held out her forearm. He watched, stunned, as she drew the razor sharp blade across her skin, ripping a deep cut through it. She clenched her jaw but made no sound, then set the blade aside.

"Jesus, woman. What the hell did you do that for?" he demanded.

"Just watch," she answered. 

He watched as she closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and held perfectly still. His eyes widened when the gash immediately began to mend itself. Ten seconds later, it was completely gone.

He was silent as she opened her eyes and looked at him, then down at her arm. She flexed her fingers and rolled her wrist.

"I've been shot a few times. Like that first time I killed those Rangers, in the bar. I caught a bad one. Took ten minutes to fix it when I got home." She flashed a proud grin.

"What else can you do?"

"I can usually heal other people, too. There's two types of people when it comes to mind linking though. You have sponges, who suck it up, and rocks, who block it off."

"Basically, some people will accept it and others just can't take it in?" he asked, wanting to understand.

Gin nodded. "Yeah. You're a sponge," she stated definitely.

He lifted a brow. "So, if I were to cut open my arm like that," he jerked his head towards where she'd slashed herself, "could you heal it that fast?"

She shook her head. "Naw, not that fast, but quick enough. More like five minutes then ten seconds."

"Would you feel drained?"

"No. Not at all. There's more to it than healing, though. I can sense things, too. If someone is close, I can sense that. Trouble, that sort of thing. Sometimes I see things, too, before they happen." She shrugged her shoulders slightly. "I'm so used to it, I don't even think about it anymore. I just do it. I guess it's a great skill, but I take it for granted most the time."

Riddick pushed to his feet. "I'm glad you told me. It's something that will definitely help us in the future, I'm sure of that."

She nodded again, and he watched unhappily as she quickly slipped back into monosyllabic mode.

"I'm going to go check our position, then I'm gonna crash. How 'bout you?"

Another curt nod, and she stretched out on her back, eyes closed.

When he came back she was sound asleep, but lifted a lid when he entered the room. She made a move to get up but he lifted his hand to still her, then picked her up. He laid on his back and she stretched out across his chest, snuggling into his warmth.

And they slept.


	12. The Arrival

****

12. The Arrival

Gin and Riddick didn't talk much as the last day of travel to Dres passed. Gin seemed inclined to stay silent, and Riddick, finally having gotten her to talk the day before, was satisfied with that. At least he knew she wasn't mad at him.

She was just all business, but he'd expected that.

"There it is," she said, pointing out the yellowish-red planet of Dres. A dust storm could be seen swirling across a large section in the southern half of the planet.

Riddick went to the main control planet and punched in the coordinates for the landing site outside of the camp they'd be landing at. "You wanna take it in?" he questioned her.

Gin nodded. They shot through the atmosphere, the heat causing red flames to surround the ship. Gin watched the dials in front of her, hit the main thrusters after a fast drop and gently put the small ship down.

A satisfied smile crossed her lips at the easy landing. She glanced up at Riddick. "Three point landing."

------

Jack looked up from her work and saw a small ship enter the atmosphere. It took an amazing dive towards the ground and then swooped up gracefully. She watched it in interest as it rocketed across the sky and then headed in the direction of the landing pad. She wondered who it could be.

About fifteen minutes passed before any news got back to her. "Strangers," she heard someone mumble to another miner.

"Big guy..." someone else continued.

"Did you see the pretty blonde? Jimmy tried to make a pass at her and ended up on his ass."

"Big guy do it?"

"Nope. The pretty blonde. Dropped him and flashed a pair of fangs. Trysian, no doubt."

At this, Jack's ears pricked up. Trysian? Like Gin? It suddenly made sense. A Trysian and a big guy. It had to be Gin and Riddick.

Jack tipped back her head and stared up at the sky, a small smile ticking at the corner of her mouth. Not wanting to get her hopes up, she placed her pick on the ground and jogged to the landing pad.

When she got there she saw a small prowler and figured it was the one she's seen streaking across the sky earlier. She walked up to the man that was charging up the power cells. "Did you see the man and woman that got off this ship?" she him, her voice curious but calm. She wondered when the prospect of seeing Riddick again had gone from being her biggest dream to being a pleasant prospect.

The man lifted his brows at her. "Why do you wanna know?" he questioned suspiciously.

"I think I might know them," she said with a small shrug.

The man studied her dubiously for a few moments and then pointed towards the supply store. "They went in there," he finally said.

"Thanks," Jack said then jogged toward the storefront.

The store's interior was cool and dark, and Jack pushed her tinted goggles back on her head and stalked quietly into the air conditioned depths. She heard a low, deep and familiar voice coming from the back where they kept food.

She stood on tiptoe to see over the shelves and was just able to make out a dark shaved head.

Cautiously, she started to approach the back of the store, but stopped short when she got close enough to make out the words of a conversation.

"What are you gonna do if she sees you?" a woman's voice asked.

Jack crept closer.

"I don't know." Riddick's voice. It sent a pang through Jack's chest, something akin to longing but mixed up in a feeling of anger. "It's not as if she can come with us when we leave."

Jack froze. Were they talking about her?

"I don't suppose she could. There's no room on the prowler in any case. If we had my old ship it would be fine, but those bastards that ripped me up took it. Probably sold it for scrap, too." Jack realized that it must be Gin talking to Riddick.

Jack crept even closer to the voices.

"She isn't safe around me until you get my name changed, Gin. When Riddick is dead, maybe I can take her. But I don't know how to take care of a kid. She doesn't have a real place in my life, no matter how much she might want it." Jack felt any sense of happiness she might have felt at Riddick's return deflating rapidly.

Scraping together her courage and her composure, Jack rounded the corner. Riddick's broad back was to her but Gin spotted her over his broad shoulder.

"Jack," she murmured as her eyes settled on the young girl.

Jack stepped forward, forcing a smile onto lips that felt suddenly stiff and dry. "Uh, hey, G- Reese. How are you?"

Gin pushed around Riddick and hugged Jack. "I'm good. And it's good to see a familiar face after the past coupla months I've been through." Jack stood stiffly in Gin's embrace, her raising to barely touch the older woman's back.

Riddick was watching them now, his eyes hidden behind his dark goggles. His face was expressionless, and when Gin pulled away from Jack he didn't say anything. 

Jack ignored the slightly hurt and confused expression on Gin's face and looked Riddick in the eye. Uncertainty and a dull ache vied for attention in her mind as he just stood there watching her. "Hi, Riddick," she murmured finally, lowering her eyelids and tipping her chin up slightly, shoving her hands into her pockets.

"Jack," he acknowledged.

Jack kept her face stoic as they regarded each other, the man and the girl that idolized him.

**__**

Used to idolize him, she reminded herself and realizing it was true. There were still feelings there, but nothing like what they'd been before. The simple joy and elation she'd once felt in his presence was gone, replaced by something darker and less trusting. _Wary_, she thought. _I don't trust him not to stomp on me. _Her lids dropped a bit more and her jaw clenched_. And I don't have a crush on him anymore._

Riddick stepped forward and held out his hand to Jack. She stared at it for a moment then quirked a small smile at him. "What, Riddick? Just meeting me for the first time?"

Riddick couldn't quite stop the frown that tilted the corners of his lips downwards and Jack gripped her familiar sarcasm with an iron grasp. There was a roaring in her ears as she thought about Riddick and Gin leaving her behind again. Of being left on this dust bowl planet to let the sand slip into her mouth and slowly grind away her teeth for yet another day. Another week. Another slow, painful year. Panic warred with anger, but Jack felt maybe she'd grown up a little as she smirked at Riddick until he let his hand fall back to his side.

------

Riddick clenched his jaw tightly as he saw the corner of Jack's mouth quirk into a cynical smirk. Yes, her head was shaved, and there was a pair of welding goggles resting on top of her head, but he wondered if that meant what it used to. A number of the people he'd seen as him and Gin entered the store after leaving his ship had been wearing goggles of one kind or another. He'd seen two other women with shaved heads.

The expressive green eyes Riddick remembered so well were half closed and filled with a sort of wary cynicism that looked out of place in Jack's young face. Her eyes looked old and tired.

"You know a place we can bed down in, Jack?" Gin asked the girl, obviously trying to break the tension quickly filling the air between Jack and Riddick.

Jack pulled her goggles over her green eyes, effectively hiding them from view, before stepping to Gin's side. "Do I call you Reese?" she asked Gin, leading them outside.

"Yeah," Gin answered. "As far as anyone else knows, Gin Wolf died in a transport crash after she escaped Slam."

Nodding at that, Jack began to lead them to the stand of shacks and make-shift cabins that dotted the camp. These ones were a lot more stable than the ones where Riddick had been holed up.

"You can have this one. No one has lived here for ages and I don't reckon they'll be comin' back anytime soon." She looked quizzically at them. "Looks like you two are getting along," she commented finally.

"You could say that," Gin answered, and Jack noted the cautious tone of voice.

Jack smirked again. "Don't worry about protecting my vulnerable feelings, Gin." She tipped her gaze to Riddick. "Glad you found her, Riddick. Glad you came back."

Riddick's face was unreadable as always, and Jack bit back the urge to scream _LIAR! _in his face when he smiled slightly and answered, "Yeah, me too, kid."

Jack watched him a moment longer, her chin tilted up and her face expressionless. She nodded then and turned on her heal, disappearing into the multitude of small miners shacks.

------

Gin turned on Riddick. "Well, that went well, didn't it?" she bit out.

"At least you're talking to me again."

"Neither of us seems to be talkative lately. I usually ain't, and neither are you."

He nodded. "Doesn't look like Jack's a big talker anymore, either."

Gin frowned. "What happened to her?" she asked, her voice troubled.

Riddick shrugged, pushing the nagging feeling he had that whatever was wrong with Jack had something to do with himself and headed into the adjoining room and found a double wide cot. "Yes," he murmured, pleased.

Gin followed close behind. "Oh, God. I actually get to sleep on my own half for once."

He glanced at her sharply. "What's wrong with me?"

She lifted her brows. "Nothin'. But the threat of suddenly rolling off you or you rolling over was an unpleasant one, hon."

"I can see that," he answered quietly.

Gin flopped down on the cot and rolled toward the wall. Riddick stretched beside her slowly. They let out a long sigh together.

"Oh, yeah," Gin breathed.

He made a sound of total agreement

"What did the shop keeper say?" Riddick asked Gin, not looking at her.

He heard her shift slightly before she answered. "He was Trysian," she stated.

"So was the guy back at the dust hole we came from."

Gin rolled over and looked at him, propping her head in her hand. "He was?"

"I forgot you didn't see him," Riddick said.

She shrugged. "Oh, well. Prob'ly didn't know him anyhow. In any case, the keeper said Ven had mentioned going home. Only thing is, she might not be there at all, and what home? Trys or Crip?" She shook her head. "I only wish I knew how she thinks now."

"We'll try Crip first. Leave tomorrow. Both of us are beat and we need a bigger ship. Think there are any Rangers 'round here?" Riddick asked.

She nodded again. "For security, sure."

"Then tonight, me and you go hunting."


	13. Shatter

****

13. Shatter

Jack tipped up her chin and stared at Riddick a moment longer, pointedly wiping any and all expression from her face. She knew he wouldn't be able to read her eyes, but she was glad for the goggles all the same. 

When Riddick didn't seem likely to say anything more she nodded curtly and turned on her heel. Jack made herself walk calmly until she could safely step between the relative safety of two rusted shacks. Out of sight, Jack pressed her back against one rough wall and slid down to the ground. She clasped her hands together and rested her elbows on her knees.

She didn't cry. She hadn't cried since that night back on Hell's own planet. Nothing had been as scary, lonely, or terrifying as that night since then. She couldn't think of any reason to cry. So her heart broke quietly, shattering inside her chest. Jack felt like shards of her still beating heart had slammed into her ribs to embed themselves there.

Throbbing, throbbing, throbbing...

Her chin dropped to her chest in defeat. She stared at the toes of her boots, ran a hand over her head, let it drop down into the dirt. A tiny dust cloud rose and swirled around her weathered fingers, settled in a fresh cut, stinging slightly.

"Pain," she muttered under her breath. Her heart thudded dully, sounding bored and defeated in her ears. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the shiv she'd been making. It was from a scrap of metal she'd picked up. One edge was flat, dull. The other was a glittering line of sharpened steel, sharp and potentially deadly.

An empty sort of desperation choked off her air supply for a moment.

__

They're leavin' me, she thought, finally forcing her lungs and throat to work together, sucking in a harsh breath. _Leavin' me, leavin' me, leavin' me. Just like everyone. First my folks, then Gin, then Riddick, then Ven and Brand. And it's happening all over again. Gin and Riddick are leaving me again._

Ven and Brand had started to become more than friends to her. Especially Brand. She'd even started to grow her hair out a little bit. He'd paid attention to her. Treated her like a girl and not like she was one of the guys. Not that she wanted most people to know she was a girl, but now everyone she knew on Dres knew she was a girl. She'd gotten rid of most her baggier boy clothes, opting to dress as much like Ven as she could afford.

When Brand had pulled her aside about six months ago and told her that him and Ven were leaving she'd felt her insides freeze. Her brain had halted on his exact words, skipping over them again and again like an old record. "We're leavin' tomorrow mornin', Jack," he'd said, his voice a quiet growl. "Ven says..." he'd gone quiet, approaching that subject him and Ven never broached with anyone but themselves, when no one else could hear them. She'd waited expectantly, but he'd stared at his boots, fingering the grip of his knife.

When he'd looked up at her again the little boy that had momentarily been in his eyes had been shoved down again, replaced by the man that Jack suspected Brand had been for a long time. A man that was leaving her just like the two that had come before him; her father and Riddick. "Ven and I have to go back to doin' what we were doin' before you came. We always come back here eventually, but right now we have to go home and-" he paused again. "And do some other stuff."

Brand stared at her then, his fingers still toying with the knife handle at his hip. Jack wondered if he wanted her to say something, but she'd long run out of things to say to the people leaving her behind. She'd stuffed her hands in the pockets of her battered jeans and rocked back on her heals, gazing at him through hooded eyes, her chin tipped back. It was a defensive pose she took that worked to make it look like she was staring down at the other person, even if they were taller than her. Brand was quite a bit taller than her.

"Aren't you going to say something?" he'd asked finally, his brows coming together over his glittering gold eyes.

Jack just shook her head and curled her fingers into fists in her pockets. "Like what? Tell me what to say. Tell me what it is that will make you not go, or will make you and Ven come back faster."

He was silent and his gold eyes had gone dark. She'd watched him cover those golden eyes with his shades and had experienced a sudden feeling of loss just like when she'd watched Riddick cover his shined eyes.

"Ya see, Brand, there's never anything to say. Not even goodbye. It just sounds hollow. An empty word. There's no good byes."

Silence extended between them and Jack waited for it to go from tense to uncomfortable. The hole that swirled inside of her that seemed to thrive on her own private pain consumed another piece of herself. _Black hole, O'mine_, she though, staring at her own reflection in Brand's sunglasses. _Gravity well in my chest. Just suck up my heart and squash it good._

The silence didn't change from tense to uncomfortable, but Jack had felt her composure slipping. "Leaving. Right. Night, Brand." She'd turned away from him then, heading off into the night. She barely heard his light tread as he stepped into the lane behind her, but she could feel those strange gold eyes burning holes into her back. Jack hadn't slowed down and turned, though. She just kept walking until she reached the edge of the settlement, then she went a little farther into the desert, feeling a dry wind against her cheek, flinging sand into her hair and against her skin.

Jack hadn't returned to the small house-like structure she shared with Ven and Brand that night. Instead, she'd watched the sun rise over the eastern horizon to spill light across the packed desert, her goggles pulled over her eyes to protect them from the glare of sun and the bite of the sand kicked up by the breeze. When she'd finally headed back, Ven and Brand were packing the last of their supplies.

"A commercial ship is stopping here in a coupla hours," Ven had said to Jack as she sat in a canvas chair by the wall, watching them. 

Jack made no sign that she'd heard Ven other than a simple incline of her chin. Her gaze was locked on Brand's back, but he didn't say anything.

Time seemed to speed up then, leaving Jack feeling like her doom was nearing. _Doom? _she thought to herself. _This is my doom? Not to die on that planet with the others. Not to die chasing Riddick across one solar system into the next. No, my doom is much worse. My doom is to go through life alone, always left behind by the people I want to care about but that don't want to care about me._

"C'mon, Brand," Ven said, breaking Jack out the reverie that haunted her. "It's time to get to the landing pad." She'd stood in the door, two bags thrown over her shoulders, her only visible weapon the blade strapped to her thigh. 

Brand and Jack were facing each other, Jack still in her seat, Brand leaning back against the rough wooden table in the center of the room, his arms folded across his broad chest.

"I'll meet you there," Ven had murmured finally before disappearing.

The teenagers stared at each other, gold eyes locked with green.

"Are you going to walk me to the landing pad?" Brand had asked finally.

She'd cocked her head to the side and quirked a dark brow.

"No. I didn't think so," he'd said in reply to her silent answer, his voice a throaty whisper that made him sound much older than he was.

Brand had crossed to her and reached out with his right hand, holding it to her palm up, fingers slightly curled in invitation.

Jack regarded the proffered hand for a long still moment before slipping her own into it. Brand's fingers had curled around it and she'd been able to feel the rough calluses rub against her own work roughened palms.

A small gasp escaped her when Brand had yanked her roughly to her feet so she fell against his chest, her hand still trapped within his and caught between their bodies. She'd contemplated punching him in the face at that moment, but the gleam in his glimmering eyes had stilled her already fisting hand and she'd been surprised to find herself reaching up to push a long strand of dark hair behind his ear.

"Tell me you'll miss me, Jack," he'd said then, and she'd been surprised to hear a desperate sort of pain in his voice. "Tell me you'll miss me like I'll miss you."

The lump in her throat returned even as she thought about it. Jack's eyes drifted closed in memory as she remembered nodding, swallowing the fear and loss threatening to suffocate her, and then the feel of Brand's lips on her own as he'd kissed her.

She'd never been kissed before, but it had been everything she'd hoped and wanted plus more. He'd slid his free hand into her hair as he kissed her long and hard and she'd squeezed his hand, the fingers of her other hand stroking his jaw.

"I'll miss you," Jack had whispered in return, feeling like she could almost cry, maybe just a little.

"I'll be back," Brand said. He'd kissed her again, one last time, then he'd stepped back from her, dropping her hand and picking up his duffle bag. His gaze held onto hers a moment longer, and then he'd been gone.

Jack hadn't followed him. She'd sat back in the canvas chair and listened for the commercial freighter that Ven and Brand were leaving on. When she heard it leave, she'd closed her eyes and let her head fall back against the chair, the black hole in her chest sucking her soul into its depths.

The day after Ven and Brand left Jack shaved her head again. Not to be like Riddick, though. She shaved it because there was no one to grow it out for anymore.

A stiff wind rose and threw sand over her boots and against her legs. Jack raised her head and stared up at the darkened sky.

Tomorrow was going to be another lonely day.


	14. Closing In

****

14. Closing In

Alec Cross didn't have a clue where to look for Riddick next. His radar picked up a small ship coming up behind him and he checked his monitors. The prowler buzzed past him, and his instruments picked up a single life form aboard. Not Riddick, though. Riddick would be long gone by now, not behind him.

The fact that a prowler was so close behind him peaked his curiosity, though, and he decided to follow it. It had to bring him somewhere.

------

Gin and Riddick hauled the dead Ranger's body into the cockpit of Riddick's ship. Riddick had drained all the power cells but one, giving it just enough gas to fly about eight hundred miles away and then take a dive. 

They left a few things on board to identify the body as Riddick. The Ranger was Riddick's height and build, and because he'd obviously been trained locally and was a newbie at best, there wouldn't be many people to worry about his disappearance. They'd just figure he got stationed somewhere else. Everyone would take it as Riddick's death, accepting it at face value, especially since Gin had swapped the Ranger's dental, blood, tissue, and DNA records with Riddick's.

Riddick punched in coordinates for an area of the planet more than twelve-hundred miles away and then put in the command for auto-pilot. They got off the prowler and watched it lift off, heading eastward.

Gin gave it a small, mocking salute. "Bye, Riddick," she murmured.

Riddick grinned, his white teeth showing bright in the dark night. "Good riddance, too. That Riddick was nothin' but trouble for everyone."

She smiled at him. "Oh, yeah. He can go join that murdering Gin Wolf in hell."

They laughed quietly and headed back towards the main settlement to check on the cell charging sequence for Gin's new ship. Gin had made a deal with the Trysian shop keeper and gotten her and Riddick a Hydro-quad 650. She'd paid, so the ship was hers now. She was extremely pleased with herself because her last ship had been a Hydro-quad 570, and it had been top of the line. This was much better. 

Four cryo-lockers, two sleeping quarters, good sized cockpit, and a large cargo space with room for a small work-out area made it worth the bucks she'd been forced to dish out of her bank account. She was set, and Riddick admitted easily enough he wouldn't mind having one himself. It was a good investment for anyone, especially cons like themselves.

They headed back to their sleeping quarters, the hardest part of Riddick's death finished. 

"You gotta name?" she asked him. "Because if you don't, I have some great ones. Wilbur Cummins, Biff Jefferson. . ." she ticked off a few more god-awful names before Riddick stopped her.

"Thank God I did think of somethin'," he said. "Yeah, I gotta name. Victor Rennick." He shot her a questioning look.

She considered the name. "Yeah, it fits, I guess. Victor though. . . I don't know. Vic for short?"

"Sure. Why not," he answered.

"Rennick," she smirked. "Cutting it a little close there, aren't we?"

Riddick nodded. "Yeah, maybe, but I like it, and if someone called out the name Rennick I'd remember it without trouble."

"I like it. So, no more Riddick in public. Kinda sad, I like the name. Oh, well. 

"So what's next on the agenda, Vic?" she questioned teasingly, abruptly changing gears.

Riddick wrapped his arm around Gin's waist and pulled her close to his side. "I don't know, Reese. What are you doin' tonight?"

She grinned up at him, sliding her hand into his back pocket. "You."

And they disappeared into their hut for the night.

------

The man from the supply shop back on Riddick's dust bowl passed the merc in his prowler. The dust bowl, X-14, had been a temporary place for him, but it had been easy to set up shop there, and he'd lived in peace there.

Gin hadn't been the only one having trouble with Rangers. They'd killed his family, too, so he'd left. But now Gin was going to need to know about the merc that was after her and Riddick, and he was the man to tell her about it.

He had to find her fast though, the merc was following him. He could feel it.

------

"You're close, Gin. Keep lookin', sis."

Gin sat up with a start, heat rolling off of her skin in waves and she could feel a trickle of sweat dripping down the center of her back. Her hair was plastered to her head and her breathing was labored.

It had been Ven. She'd been reaching out to her, her cheek was bruised, and she'd been able to make out Brand's shadow in the background.

The words echoed in her head. ". . . close. . ." Over and over again. Her sister was in trouble, and so was Brand. She had to find them.

Riddick's hand grabbed her thigh and she jumped.

"Hey." He looked at her questioningly. "You all right?"

She shook her head miserably and slouched down. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against his bare chest. She didn't cry, but he could feel the pain radiating from her.

"Ven and Brand are in trouble. We're close though, Riddick. . . God, I'm so close, but I can't find them!" Rage, helplessness, and sorrow warred for possession of her soul as she tried to grab back her sister's essence.

Suddenly Gin went very stiff. "Someone's coming," she whispered.

Riddick felt more than heard her comment. "Who?"

She lifted her head and closed her eyes. "Friend. I can't smell him though. It's different. . . Trysian maybe."

Riddick reached out with all his senses, trying to pick up on something. He could just make out the low breathing of the guy in the hut next to theirs. He could smell the community cafe, the too strong coffee and cheap food.

Then he felt it. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up as he sensed someone intent on finding them. "Friend?"

She shifted slightly. "He's closing in. He can sense me, too. Friend though." Gin looked Riddick in the eye. "He's trying not to alarm us." Her head went up again, as if she were trying to detect some elusive odor.

"Got him," she murmured. "Familiar. . ." she trailed off. "I know him, but the scent is old, I can't quite stick it."

"Get dressed," he commanded.

The rolled off their cot and pulled on cargos and shirts, the cool night air raising goosebumps on their flesh.

When there was a knock on the door, Riddick strolled over to it and pulled it open. The man from the supply shop on X-14 stood before him, dressed in black, his yellow eyes glowing slightly in the dark.

"Where's Gin?" he asked.

Riddick didn't move, standing between Gin and the man. Gin had said the man was a friend, but she might have been wrong. Riddick studied him thoroughly. He couldn't pick up any hostility, but there was a sense of urgency about him, belying his relaxed position.

The man was large. Roughly six foot four, massive chest, shoulders and arms as well. He stood a few inches above Riddick, but he wasn't playing off his size to try and intimidate him. Riddick decided to agree with Gin. Stepping away from the entrance, he gestured the man inside. The man stepped through the door, ducking his head, and shoved a hand through his short black hair.

Gin stood in the darkest shadows of the hut, her goggles on despite the darkness. She was hiding her eyes, knowing this man would be able to read her if she had them off.

"Gin," the man began when he spotted her. "Oh, God, girl, you look good." He stepped forward and Riddick shifted uneasily at the man's comment.

She was silent as she studied him from behind her goggles, her muscles coiled. "Who are you?" she asked quietly, her voice so low even Riddick had a hard time hearing it.

The other man didn't have the same problem. "You don't remember?" 

Gin felt the man was very familiar. The scent was not quite recognizable, but the voice was much like her father's. Same accent as her father and gravely deep, like Riddick's.

She closed her eyes and tried to think back. "Malloy. Craig Malloy," she said, opening her eyes and looking at the big man.

"Yeah. You do remember." He looked pleased. "But you've got trouble, Gin."

Riddick stepped to Gin's side. "What sort of trouble?"

"There's a merc after you guys. Slick one. He came lookin' for Riddick a few days after you two took off. I passed him on my way here. He might be following me."

Riddick tensed. "Great. Did he know what I look like?"

"Yeah. Described you to a T," Craig answered.

"Shit," he growled quietly.

Gin placed her hand gently on Riddick's forearm. "We changed your identity. Riddick is dead. When he gets here, he'll learn that quick, and we'll be gone. I've gotten the information I need here.

"How many days ahead of him do you think you are?"

Craig thought for a moment. "A day. Maybe."

This time it was Gin's turn to swear. "We can't leave tonight. The power cells on the new transport aren't charged yet."

"When will they be done?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. We need to pack."

They threw together all their belongings, stuffing them back in the leather duffel bags. 

When they were done, Craig looked at Gin. "You look like your mother," he murmured. "She was an amazing lady."

Gin felt a sudden rush of emotions stream up to clog her throat, making her chest feel tight. "Uh, yeah," she managed around the lump in her throat, uncomfortable talking about her emotions.

Craig headed back to his ship and Gin and Riddick climbed back onto their cot. Riddick, feeling something was wrong with Gin, pulled her against his side, holding her as they fell asleep.


	15. Preparations

****

15. Preparations

The sun rose bright and orange over the dusky horizon as Gin stood silhouetted in the doorway. She held a dented tin cup in her right hand and slowly raised it to her lips, sipping the biting liquid.

Riddick still lay in bed. He'd groaned slightly when she'd pulled away from him in the still dark hours of morning, but had quickly slipped back into whatever nightmares filled his head when he allowed himself to sleep. She knew he was haunted by something, but what that might be, she didn't know.

He sometimes murmured broken words in his sleep. Sometimes a name. Carolyn or Fry had passed his lips more than once, and despite her attraction and respect for him, she felt no jealously for the woman that had been in his past. She wasn't present now, and the here and now is what mattered to her. To add to that, Riddick didn't belong to her, nor she to him. They had a mutually satisfying arrangement, but she had no qualms about leaving him for the next thing. Neither did she fool herself into thinking they would end up together when she found Ven and Brand.

Her sister's voice still echoed in her head, no matter how hard she tried to shake it. Ven hadn't sounded frightened, but there had been an underlying tone of distress. Gin felt she was running out of time.

Tossing the dregs of her liquor laced coffee to the dirt outside, she placed the tin mug on the small scarred table behind her and headed for the outskirts of the mining camp.

This place was well organized and neat. All the little cabins, although different shapes and sizes, were evenly spread out, leaving clear paths about the colony. Some even had small gardens, with bright flowers and vegetables. 

Gin eyed the flowers, who's peddles still shunned the darkness of the early morning, almost in the same fashion as she did. She saw the tops of carrots sticking out of the ground and felt herself begin to salivate. Despite the need and love of meat, she still missed the cool bite of green food. Or orange, she compromised, ripping a tender carrot from the dirt. She swirled it around in a watering can before biting into it. She may have lived in the forest most of her life, but that didn't mean she enjoyed the taste of dirt.

The satisfying crunch filled her ears as she continued on her walk. Riddick would wake soon to find her gone, and she knew he wouldn't have trouble tracking her, despite the variety of scents that hung in the air.

She hadn't watched a sunrise before, she realized suddenly. The thought of baring her sensitive eyes to direct sun rays had never been an appealing one, but with the extra dark goggles she decided to give it a shot.

Gracefully leaping to the top of a tall water tank, she swung her legs over the edge, facing the horizon where the great yellow-orange ball began its ascent into the sky.

Shielded from its full brunt, she gazed in a sort of awe as the sky and landscape shifted beneath shades of yellow, orange, purple, and finally pink before the atmosphere fully embraced morning and began to turn blue. Unable to stand the completely risen sun, she pushed off the edge and landed silently on the dusty ground.

Riddick stood with his back to her and the sun and he didn't say anything as she approached his side. "I'd never watched one before," she murmured as they began walking towards their hut.

He was quiet for a while, merely gliding beside her silently. "I haven't watched one since long before I got my eyes shined. And if I have before that, I can't remember. I was always busy doing something else," he finally commented.

"Maybe we can get one on halo-tape," she said, half serious, half teasing.

He glanced down at her, trying to judge her mood. He cracked a smile. "Yeah. Maybe."

The hours flew by as they waited for the twelve power cells to finish taking their charge. The damn things took so long because the trickle charger that the Trysian shop keeper had was slower than molasses and older than Methuselah.

"At this rate, we'll never get off this dust bowl," Gin growled ten hours later. The first four cells were done and she shoved them into their sockets, locking them into place with a twist.

Jack sat beside her on the floor, watching her movements with a sort of bored curiosity. "I know you're not bringing me with you," she finally said.

Gin shot a sharp look at her, her silver eyes glowing in the dim light. She'd shut all the doors to block out the sun's blinding rays and Jack had to follow her mostly by sound to figure out what she was doing.

She opened her mouth to deny Jack's statement, then shut it again. The girl wasn't stupid. Young but far from stupid. "How do you know that?" she asked instead, flicking the switches on the cell board to begin transferring energy into the ships electronic system.

"I heard you and Riddick in the supply shop when you first arrived." Jack pushed herself to her feet and dusted non-existent dirt from her pants. She was silent for a long moment, her right hand fingering something in her hip pocket. "I hate it here," she gritted out from between her teeth.

"I know that."

"I don't see why I can't come with you. I know more than Riddick gives me credit for. He thinks I'm just some stupid kid. He won't even take a minute to realize I've had to grow up a lot since he's been gone. Drop me off anywhere, just don't make me stay in this hell hole."

Gin sighed loudly at Jack's impassioned speech. "Kid, you don't have a clue what you're getting into. You can't make it out there. You're safe here, though. You have a job, a place to stay. You have your whole life to wander around the universe."

Gin felt a ripple of surprise pass through her as Jack tilted her chin up and rocked back on her heels, giving Gin the sensation she was being looked down on. Jack's jaw had gone hard and the teen stuffed her other hand deep into her pocket.

"I get it," she murmured, her voice more than a little cynical. "There just ain't any room for me in either of your guys' worlds. You don't want some kid followin' you 'round." She turned on her heal and hit the button to open the back hatch. 

Gin felt the need to grab Jack's arm and make her listen but knew it wouldn't help. The kid was hurt and lonely and no matter what she tried to say, she wouldn't be able to change Jack's mind. Especially since the kid was right.

Pulling her goggles down to protect her eyes from the sunlight leaking through the opened hatch, she watched as Jack walked quietly away, little stirs of dust swirling around her feet.

Riddick suddenly appeared from the direction of the trickle charger, holding two power cells over his shoulders. "What's with her?" he asked, looking after Jack's quickly receding back.

Gin glanced away from the girl's retreating back to Riddick's face. "She wants to come."

"Did you tell her she can't?" he asked, stepping onto he lowered hatch.

Gin nodded. "Yeah. She knows. She heard us in the supply shop when we arrived."

"Shit. Wish she hadn't heard that," he finally muttered after a long silence. He slid the two power cells into place and twist locked them in their sockets.

"You do have a bit of a heart in there, don't you," she said.

His face hardened. "I have a conscience. It ain't a good one, to say the least, but it's there." He turned to the power board. "Six to go," he said, effectively changing the subject.

Deciding not to pursue it, Gin went along with Riddick's subject change. "How long before the other six are done?"

He glanced at his wrist watch. "Two, three hours at the least. The next two are close to done. Twenty minutes left on them."

"Damn. That merc has to be close by now," Gin replied, gazing out at the sky. The bright sun burned her eyes and she quickly turned away.

"Hungry?" he asked, stepping so close to her she could feel his heat.

__

Yeah, I'm hungry, she thought to herself, unconsciously shifting closer to him. _But not for food_. She looked up at him and reached over to hit the hatch button. It began to close and she lifted her goggles away from her eyes and tossed them across the cargo hold. "Hungry?" she whispered.

The change in his scent wasn't lost on Gin and she leaned a little closer, feeling his body heat rise. "Not hungry, hm?" he asked, sliding a large hand behind her back and pulling her flush against him.

She slid her left hand into his back pocket and her right arm around his neck. "Oh, I'm very hungry," she murmured, licking her lips. "Are you hungry?"

He tried to answer but all that escaped his mouth was a low growl and he crushed his mouth over hers, devouring her lips. Their teeth clashed and he thrust his tongue between her lips, drawing a ragged moan from her throat as she lifted up on her toes to press her body more fully against his.

"Christen the ship," she ground out when they surfaced for breath.

He growled some sort of reply before diving back down to her mouth. "I want to rip off your clothes," he groaned.

"Don't," she whispered. "This is my last shirt. You ruined the last three already. Last pants, too."

"I'll buy you more," he answered, drawing his shiv.

Gin felt the sharp blade slide delicately up the length of her arm and instead of being frightened she was turned on. "I have a better idea," she growled. She grabbed his hand and dragged him toward a ladder leading onto the ship's upper level. He followed close behind and as soon as he came through and closed the hatch, Gin began pushing him down the short hallway toward one of the rooms. She pushed him through the open door until his knees hit the back of the bed.

He tried to pull her down with him but she pushed his hands away and took a few steps back. Then she very slowly turned her back to him and began lifting her shirt over her head.

Riddick swallowed hard as Gin began to slowly strip for him, her lithe body moving in a slow, sensual dance as she toed off her boots and slowly peeled her pants away from her legs.

"This is definitely better," he managed to whisper around the lump in his throat.

When she was completely nude, and he could see the smattering of silvery scars that covered large portions of her body, she slid over to him on silent feet and placed her hand in the center of his chest, pushing lightly. He complied to her silent demand by laying down on his back and she crawled up over him so she was straddling his hard thighs.

She leaned down and licked his neck, a low purr erupting from deep in her throat. A sort of growling purr escaped his own throat as she grabbed his shirt and pulled it up. Riddick lifted just enough to allow her to slip the shirt over his head and she tossed it in the general direction of her clothes.

Gin bent double and placed her tongue near his navel and began licking a line up the center of his rippled stomach to his chest. She continued the slow, wet line until she reached his mouth, where she teased him with little nips, not allowing him to kiss her fully. 

Her hands were busy at his belt and the clasp of his pants and she slowly rolled them away from his skin. Then she was rearing up over him and sliding down on his hard shaft, a loud groan emanating from both their mouths.

Riddick arched beneath her and grabbed her hips in his large hands. She felt his calluses rasp over her smooth skin as they set a pounding rhythm that had both of them panting.

With a feral growl, Riddick rolled Gin beneath him and used his arms to push them to the edge of the bed so he could place his still booted feet on the floor. The bed was raised high off the floor and Gin sat up, wrapping her legs around his waist. 

He pumped into her wildly until they both screamed their relief and fell back onto the cot, Riddick twisting so he wouldn't land on her.

"Whoa," she breathed, collapsing fully across his broad chest.

"Some christening," he murmured, absently running his hand through her short hair.

"Yeah," she agreed. 

Neither had anything to say, both knowing this time together would end shortly. So they stayed in a comfortable silence, listening to one another's' breathing. The merc would arrive, the cells would be powered up, and they'd be on their way, closing in on that time when they would part company.

Gin listened to the strong beating of Riddick's heart beneath her ear and sighed, closing her eyes. She didn't like the way he made her feel safe. But only because she liked it so much.


	16. Final Mistake

****

16. Final Mistake

Alec landed on Dres in the late afternoon hours, just before twilight was getting ready to descend upon the planet. Large mining machinery could be heard in use not far away and he spotted a fancy ship close by. A Hydro-quad 650. He'd been looking for one of those for years.

"Look at that 'quad," his partner, Ken Reigns, breathed. "That's sweet!"

Alec flashed the younger man a grin. "Yeah. If I can find who owns it, maybe I'll buy it off them."

"I think _I'll_ buy it off them!" Ken exclaimed.

"Like you could afford it, kid," Alec scoffed. "We gotta find Riddick now, so no more joking."

They headed for the supply shop and Alec felt more than a little unnerved as he faced another set of freaky eyes and a big man. "I'm looking for a big guy. Riddick. You seen him?" he questioned the shop keeper.

The man eyed him warily before saying anything. "I see a lot of big guys around here, mister," the man said slowly.

"This guy's hard to miss though. Shaved head, always wearing dark goggles?" Alec pressed.

The man just shrugged and turned away from him when a young boy with a shaved head and goggles entered the shop. His face was dirty and stern, jaw clenched.

"Hey, Jack," the big man behind the counter called to the kid. 

The boy turned to the man and smiled broadly, pushing the goggles away from his face. "Hey, Austin," he said. "You got anything to drink? I'm broke, but you know I'm good for it."

The man he'd called Austin reached beneath the counter and the sound of clanking ice filled Alec's ears. Austin pulled out a soda and handed it to the kid, who took it gladly and popped the top.

"Thanks, Austin. I gotta get back to work, but I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Austin smiled at the kid named Jack when he left before turning back to Alec. "Why aren't you gone yet?" he questioned darkly, and Alec twitched nervously when the man reached for something Alec doubted was a soda beneath the counter.

"Uh, cute kid. He been here long?" Alec questioned, trying to get the man to ease up.

"She. And yeah, over a year now. What's it to you? After a little bald kid, too, merc?"

Alec straightened. "How'd you know I was a merc?"

Austin sneered. "Do I look that stupid to you? Merc is practically tattooed across your damn forehead."

Alec frowned at Austin. "In any case, no, I'm not after the kid, although there's a strange resemblance between, did you say her? and Riddick."

The man just shrugged and picked up a book. 

With a contemptuous curl of his lip, Alec led Ken out of the store. Maybe some of the local miners would be more inclined to talk. He'd pay for any recent news on Riddick.

------

"Gin! _Gin_! Open the door, girl!"

Groaning at the sudden intrusion, Gin rolled away from Riddick and headed for the cockpit of her ship. One of the monitors was picking up someone banging on the hatch and calling for her outside. It was Austin Bennett, and he looked like he was trying to break the door down. Sighing loudly, Gin went back to the room Riddick was in and started pulling her pants and shirt back on. Riddick raised a brow and she smiled grimly.

Stuffing a pair of socks into her boots, she snatched them up and headed for the hatch. She grabbed her goggles as she passed them on the floor and hit the key pad that would open the main cargo hold.

"What's going on, Austin?" she asked, shoving a lock of short blonde hair off her forehead. She rubbed her eyes and watched him curiously.

"Some merc is after Riddick, so you had better get off this rock quick. He saw Jack, too. Said there was a strange resemblance between her and Riddick. You gotta get outta here."

Suddenly Gin was fully alert. "Damn! Thanks, Austin. I owe you one. Could you notify Craig Malloy? He's over in D-Block. The green hut. Tell him the merc is here and he should head back to X-14 if he doesn't want to mess with the guy."

Austin nodded curtly and jogged over towards the direction of D-Block. The settlement was divided into five main blocks, A through E. The hut Riddick and Gin had been sharing was in B-Block, but the landing pad and the supply store were in A, so even if the merc found where they'd been staying, it would take him a while to figure out where they really were.

Gin hustled back towards Riddick, who had heard the conversation from the hatch between floors and was just pulling on his last boot. He followed her back down the latter and Gin tugged on her socks and boots.

"We have to get those power cells. We have enough to take off, but we're gonna have to stop somewhere else and fill up the others if they aren't done yet," Riddick said, pulling on his goggles.

Gin tugged hers on as well and they headed to the back of Austin's store, where the trickle charger was.

Gin began unhooking the cells. They were all done, thankfully, and they began dragging them back to the ship. Riddick held a cell under each arm and another in each hand. Gin hefted the last two up on her shoulders and they made it back to the ship quickly.

They shoved the power cells into place and they were just getting ready to take off when there was a pounding on the hatch. Gin shot Riddick a questioning look and he nodded.

He went out back and opened the door. Outside stood two men, and one was holding a gun to Jack's head.

"Richard B. Riddick, you're coming with me," the man holding Jack said.

Gin crept up to the edge of the cargo door, staying out of sight, and saw that he had Jack by the back of her collar. Her stomach twisted and she felt a little sick as she saw the empty resignation in Jack's eyes. The girl was staring at the man that had once been her hero and the dull empty shine to her eyes made it obvious she didn't think anyone was going to save her this time.

Quelling her sudden rage, Gin slipped back into the depths of the ship's cargo hold and headed for the side hatch at port. It side open with a soft whoosh of air and she jumped down onto the black pavement that made up the landing pad. Circling around behind, she caught the merc's younger partner by surprise, slamming her blade through his back and deep into the sweet spot just to the left of his spine. Gin pulled the blade free in one smooth motion, spun for speed, and had the still bloodied blade of her knife pressed to the merc's neck before he could even register what had just happened.

"Let the kid go," she hissed, feeling her teeth lengthen and not even trying to contain the murderous threat in her voice.

"You don't know what you're doin', lady," the merc hissed back.

A low, threatening growl erupted from her and she pressed the blade so tight against his skin that blood began to trickle down his neck. "I'm not going to tell you again."

The merc let go of Jack, and she ducked and leapt forward, turning quickly to look her captor in the eye. "Dirty bastard," she gritted out from clenched teeth. She clenched her fist and nailed the man as hard as she could in the jaw. His head jerked back and he tensed, struggling to keep his balance.

"Start the ship, Riddick," Gin commanded. "Jack, go with him. You're coming with us."

Jack snarled a number of swear words at the man before doing as she was told and heading up to Riddick's side on the ramp.

------

Riddick felt an unexpected thrill of pride go through him as Jack punched the merc so hard in the jaw his teeth snapped together and his head whipped back on his neck.

Gin commanded the girl to get on board with him and Jack spat a number of epithets at the man that would make most people's ears turn red before stalking up the ramp to stand next to Riddick. He looked down at the girl, but her eyes were locked on the merc.

"Looks like you're taggin' along after all, kid," he said, wondering why he didn't feel more annoyed by the concept.

Jack turned unreadable green eyes up to him and gave him a cold stare. "Don't get all excited or anything, Riddick," she said quietly. 

Unsure what to make of this new Jack with the sharp tongue and withering attitude, Riddick turned his gaze back to Gin.

"Shut the hatch, Riddick," she said from her place behind the merc. Riddick felt a sadistic grin twist his lips as his eyes met the merc's. He reached out and hit the key pad and the hatch began to raise.

"She's going to kill him, isn't she," Jack said quietly from her place by his side.

"Yeah, Jack. He's a dead man."

They walked toward the latter and climbed up to the next floor and then into the cockpit. Jack strapped herself into the co-pilot's seat and Riddick took his seat behind the main controls and started firing up the engines. The monitor that showed a view of the ship from just above the main cargo hatch showed Gin still standing behind the merc, whispering in his ear. Riddick looked at Jack, catching the grim look on her face and the set of her jaw.

"It'll be over soon," he whispered and switched the monitor off.

------

Gin turned the merc around so he could see his partner. "I'm going to do that to you," she whispered in his ear.

Alec stared at Ken. The younger man's eyes were wide with surprise and his mouth was open as if he'd tried to scream just before the woman had killed him.

"I let the kid go. You don't have to kill me," he insisted weakly.

"Ah, but I do. Because now you've seen me, and you'll come us both if I let you live. I can't let that happen. You made a big mistake grabbing the kid though. I don't usually have the urge to rip someone's throat out with my teeth, but with you I think I might make an exception." She shoved the merc away from her, spinning him around to face her at the same time.

His eyes locked on her face and then she jumped on him, shoving the blade deep into his chest. The man's blue gaze widened as he stared at her, and she twisted the blade, shoving it a bit deeper.

Then, with an inhuman growl, she used one long, canine tooth to rip open his jugular. The spray of hot blood touched her tongue and she brought it deep into her mouth.

The merc grabbed his neck with both hands and Gin brought her foot up between them and placed her boot against his stomach so she could shove him away.

Gin watched the merc hit the hard ground with a sickening thud. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, still clutching her sharp blade, then she rounded the ship and stepped back into the hatch she'd left through, closing it quietly behind her.


	17. On The Ship

****

17. On The Ship

Riddick was lost in thought, thinking about the strange feeling Gin was fighting concerning her brother and sister and the woman he'd last seen them with. He still hadn't told Gin about the last time he'd seen them. They'd associated themselves with a woman named Rain, and that might have gotten them in trouble. She might be the one that had Ven frightened enough that Gin was picking up on her signals.

Gin was sitting on the floor, knees drawn up to her chest. Her head rested on her arm and the hand holding her shiv lay quivering on the ground. It was still stained with the merc's dark red blood.

Jack sat on a chair, looking worried and a bit defiant. Her eyes shifted slowly between Riddick and Gin, but she made no comments. She rubbed a hand over the short stubble on her head, the action making a rasping sound that echoed within the dark confines of the ship.

They hadn't turned on any lights, and the only illumination came from the light still on in the room down the hall. Riddick preferred the light as it was and Gin didn't seem inclined to make any comments one way or the other.

A rustling from Jack indicated her intention to leave her seat at the table, but Riddick stopped her movements with a dark glare. Shrugging, Jack settled herself into the seat again and crossed her arms across her chest, closing her eyes and tipping her head back against the chair.

Gin remained silent and unmoving. Her face was hidden against her arm and she was radiating anger and fear. Fear for her family, Riddick realized, still watching her.

He moved into the cockpit and flipped a few switches with practiced ease, setting the auto-pilot coordinates for Crip-Ornay.

Hours passed with no one making a sound. Gin continued to sit on the floor and Riddick prepared a small meal for them all. Bread, cheese and some sort of chewy meat. That along with a glass of water was all he would allow Jack to eat. He didn't offer any to Gin, knowing she would either refuse to eat or refuse to acknowledge him at all. 

Seeing the look of extreme boredom on Jack's face, Riddick said the only thing he could think of. "Gin's got some books," Riddick said. The sound of his voice seemed to explode in the silence that had engulfed them all for so long.

Jack's head turned and she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. "What was that?" she questioned.

"Books," he repeated quietly, gazing at her from his spot close to Gin. "You do read, right?"

"No, Riddick. You've got to know I'm too stupid for that," she replied, her voice laced with sarcasm.

Riddick gritted his teeth, but ignored the remark. He supposed he deserved Jack's sarcasm but that didn't mean he liked it. "Glad to know I've been right," he replied, keeping his face and voice carefully neutral. The both of them were silent for a long moment, their eyes locked in silent battle. Sighing deeply, Riddick leaned his head back against his chair. "Gin's duffle is in the room at the end of the hall, on the floor by the drawers. The books are still in the bag if you're interested."

She watched him for a few more moments then stood up and headed down the hall toward the room with its light still on. Jack came back a few moments later holding a tattered novel in her hands. A faded picture decorated the front of the book, showing a landscape of endless sand dunes.

"**_Dune_**?" he questioned and Jack nodded, the sarcastic quirk that had been twisting her lips gone for the moment. "You'll like it."

Realizing the dim light made it impossible for Jack to read, Riddick pointed a finger at the small light fixture just above the chair Jack occupied.

Jack graced him with one small, genuine smile and flicked on the small light. The pale glow illuminated the top of Jack's head and the book in her hands.

Facing Gin, Riddick saw she still hadn't moved so much as an inch. She looked to be asleep, but she wasn't. He could hear the slow, steady thump of her heart beating quietly, but it wasn't the heart beat of someone sleeping. And although her breathing was deep and regular, it too proved she was conscious.

Another hour passed, the starlit space that surrounding the ship drifting past them as they headed for their destination. For Gin's home.

Suddenly, Gin looked up. It was lightening quick and she was on her feet, crouched as if waiting for an attack.

Riddick crept towards her, careful not to touch her though. She was glancing around wildly, her eyes focused on some distant place he couldn't see.

"Gin," Riddick murmured, his face near hers.

"Shh," she breathed, bringing the bloody fingers of her right hand to her lips to silence him.

Gin closed her eyes and cocked her head to one side, listening. Her brow furrowed into a pained frown, which quickly became a grimace. Sweat beaded her forehead and upper lip, and then she fell backwards against the wall. Her eyes closed, the blade caked in dry blood beside her.

Riddick leapt towards her, grabbing her sleek shoulders and giving her a shake.

"Gin! What's going on?" he demanded.

Her eyes fluttered open. "Ven..." she paused, gasping for breath. "She's - She's on," another few moments passed with Gin closing her eyes and trying to catch her breath. "Crip," she finished finally. Then, with a tired groan she collapsed.

Riddick didn't have a clue what had just happened, but he knew it must have something to do with Ven sending more distress signals to Gin. Riddick scooped Gin up and carried her to the washroom. He sat her on the floor and stripped her clothes off of her and then his own. She moaned slightly but didn't wake up, even when he turned on the water and stepped beneath the hot, steady stream.

When he'd washed the dirt, blood, and grime from both of their bodies, Riddick carried Gin into the bathroom and draped a towel around his waste, letting is hang low on his hips. He patted Gin dry before wrapping a towel around her breasts, then he picked her up and headed for the room they would be sharing.

Jack was leaning against the wall, her head resting against the smooth steel and her arms crossed over her chest. She opened her eyes when he stepped out of the bathroom with Gin and gave him a level stare. "Is she all right?" she questioned Riddick, and he heard the slight tremor in her words that she could quite hide.

Riddick shot her a sharp look and she narrowed her eyes, straightening and stepping away from him slowly. He didn't answer, but left Jack in the hall as he carried Gin into the bedroom. When he came out, fully dressed, Jack was sitting in her chair in the main living space, the book closed and resting in her lap.

"She's going to be fine," he said in answer to her last question as he folded his large frame into a chair. "She's just exhausted. Whatever happened back there drained her. Not to mention what she did back on Dres." He ran a tired hand over his head.

Jack nodded slowly, averting her eyes to a space just over his left shoulder.

Suddenly he was hunched down in front of her, his hand tipping her chin upwards so she was forced to gaze into his glowing, silver eyes. "I'm sorry I haven't been paying much attention to you, and for everything else, Jack."

The sound of her name seemed to bring back a piece of the happy-go-lucky girl he remembered from all those months before, but she didn't say anything, her green eyes wary and shuttered.

"You know how it is, right, kid?" he asked quietly. Riddick saw her flinch at the name and let his hand drop back down to his side.

He retreated to his seat and watched Jack curl in on herself, pulling her legs up onto the chair and huddling back against it. She was clutching the book so tightly her knuckles were white and the paper was creaking and twisting in protest.

"You gonna read that book or just beat the shit out of it?" he asked finally, pointing to the paperback in her clutches.

Jack seemed to snap out of some trance and jerked her eyes back to him, her fingers immediately loosening on the book. She seemed at a loss for a moment, a look that was completely at odds with the tough, sarcastic Jack she'd become since he'd last seen her. Visibly collecting herself, Jack's eyes narrowed slightly and she reached up and pointedly flicked on the light above her again.

Riddick hissed as the brightness hit his eyes and immediately jerked his goggles on. Jack ignored the noise and Riddick, not bothering to apologize. Riddick didn't get on her case about it. Maybe now the kid would think they were even.


	18. The Last Pain

****

18. The Last Pain

Crip-Ornay loomed on the horizon and Riddick watched their approach through wary eyes. They would be landing ten miles away from Gin's old home in two hours and no one knew what to expect. Everyone was on edge.

Gin could feel the taunt grip on control that Riddick was grasping, and it seemed that Jack could too. She'd gone from short sentences to monosyllabic replies to not even speaking at all. Both females were tense, but Gin hid it far better than Jack could. Riddick had been hovering over Gin protectively ever since they'd left Dres a month earlier. They'd spent three weeks in cryo-sleep, but he was back at it now, his eyes seeking her out whenever he felt she wasn't close enough to him.

Thankful that advances in ship engine technology had shortened the once four month trip to a quick month long journey, Gin stared at the rising planet before them.

Riddick seemed to be making an effort to make Jack feel like she was someone important, but Jack was quiet and withdrawn, burying herself in one of Gin's books and sleeping for long periods of time. The wary cynicism in her gaze hadn't diminished at all. 

Seeing Riddick's dark gaze locked on Jack's still form and the pinched set of his features as he fought off exhaustion, Gin reached out to him and whispered his name. "C'mere," she murmured. He stepped close to her, and she enjoyed the heat of his body seep into her senses. She laid her hands on his chest and closed her eyes, concentrating on alleviating the weariness that plagued him. Gin opened her eyes slowly and saw a look of mild wonder fill Riddick's eyes just as she slumped against his chest. He caught her, instantly concerned.

"Are you all right?" he questioned, his deep voice rolling over her senses like a blanket.

She smiled wanly and nodded. "You were tense. No good, I'll be good soon, though. Don't worry, just need sleep." And with that she fell asleep. 

------

Riddick carried Gin into their room and laid her gently on their bed, brushing the lengthening strands of blonde hair from her eyes. 

On his way back to the living area, Jack shot him a worried look. "What's wrong with her?" she demanded quietly.

"Nothin', she just exerted herself. She'll be good by the time we land. She just needs some sleep," he answered, glad to know Jack cared about Gin. She should after what Gin did to save her back on Dres.

Jack nodded, looking a little out of sorts, the wary cynical look he always saw in her eyes momentarily gone. She nodded again, absently, and then the frightened look was gone, and the old wary cynical one was back, locked firmly in place and ready to flash a cold smirk at him. The little girl with the tough attitude was gone. Now there was a young woman, with big fears, who really was tough standing in her place. The kid knew too much about how things were; she knew nothing was easy, everything was hard, and nothing came for free. He wished she didn't, because she had the same look he'd had at that age, and he hoped she didn't end up like him.

------

Jack averted her eyes from Riddick's face and curled back into her chair, opening the book in her hands to a dog-eared page, slipping back into the fiction that helped her distance herself from everything going on around her. She knew they'd be landing soon and that made her feel better. In this land of little light and quiet company she felt cold and empty. Gin talked to her sometimes, seemingly trying to recapture the rapport they'd had two years before. Riddick started conversation sometimes. The first time had given Jack a start she didn't think she'd ever forget. He almost never talked unless he had to, and now he did it with her at least once a day. She wasn't sure if she should rejoice or ask him if he felt all right. Jack decided to just keep quiet, though, ignoring the whole thing and acting like he'd always been willing to make pleasant conversation.

She tried to feel excited about seeing Ven and Brand again, but whenever she thought about why they were chasing the brother and sister team down, a sick twisting ripped at her guts. Jack didn't want to get her hopes up, afraid that when they finally got to the pair, it would be too late, and Brand would be gone from her forever. At least, back on Dres, there'd always been the hope that Brand would come back. If she had to see him dead, that dream would shatter.

Gin seemed to understand her, but Jack didn't know why she felt that way, or why Gin understood so well. Gin had never told Jack anything about herself, except to call her Reese Drake and that she was a convict with a bad record. A weird feeling of irony came over her as she realized where she was. Back on Hell's own planet everyone had been scared out of their wits of Riddick, the bad ass murderer. She'd been fascinated by him, but also terrified deep inside.

Now she was traveling with him and another Slam City escapee to a planet she'd never been to, but had been told was wild and savage and full of all sorts of life threatening goodies. _Ironic_, she said to herself silently. _I'm safer with two killers than I am anywhere else. What a life._

And with that she fell asleep.

------

The landing was smooth, the craft taking the brunt of the atmosphere impact easily, and setting them down at the right coordinates without even waking up its passengers, who were all sleeping soundly in their beds.

Gin woke first, stretching with animalistic grace and letting out a low purr of satisfaction. Riddick twitched an eyelid at her, lifted one corner of his mouth in a half smile then closed the lid and drifted off again. She continued to stretch then grabbed her goggled off the bedside table. She tugged them on, allowing them to rest on top of her head, then pulled on her pants and shirt. Gin drifted quietly down into the cargo hold and opened the hatch. She stared at her surroundings for a moment then walked down the ramp to feel the cool, green grass beneath her bare feet and between her toes. 

She wanted to see her old house, but they were miles away from it still. It had been a good sized establishment, boasting four bedrooms, two baths, kitchen, den and living room. It had taken Gin a lot of work and money to have the place built. Ven and Brand had helped bring in the cash, too. 

Judging the state of her surroundings, Gin recognized the look of an area long deserted. No one had been there for some time. No trampled grass and the birds were loud and sang joyously for the sun. Gin took a deep breath of the fresh air and grinned, despite the seriousness of her mission.

A sharp pang suddenly clouded her vision and she dropped to her knees, clutching her temples with her hands, her head lowered until her forehead touched the ground. A heavy hand dropped to her shoulder and she lashed out, swinging wildly, a growl of frustration and pain ripping from her throat.

"Gin!"

Gin forced her eyes to focus as she crouched in the grass protectively. Riddick's harsh face swam into view and she shook her head violently to clear the fog clouding her senses. "Riddick..." she breathed and fell sideways in the dirt, wrapping her arms around herself. Riddick leapt forward and scooped Gin up against his chest.

------

Damning sixth senses and her love of family, Riddick carried Gin back into the ship. He put her over his shoulder in a carefully balanced fireman's carry and climbed up the latter and then into their room. Jack stepped out of the other room, her pants zipped but not buttoned and hanging low on her narrow hips

"Is -"

"She's fine," Riddick cut Jack off before she even finished her thought, and placed Gin carefully on the bed in their room, where she seemed to be spending most of her time. Jack came in to find Riddick sitting on the edge of the bed staring down into Gin's face and pushing the hair away from her eyes. It had grown a lot since he'd found her and he wondered if she'd cut it again. 

"I don't know how she's going to help her brother and sister if she keeps getting these pains that knock her flat," Riddick said after a prolonged silence.

Jack shifted slightly on her bare feet and buttoned her pants. She tugged on her tank top over the tight black undershirt she'd been wearing before stepping closer to Riddick's shoulder. "Maybe they'll stop when we get close."

Riddick lifted one massive shoulder and sighed. "You're going to stay here, Jack." He lifted his head to look at her, his eyes shielded by the goggles. "Here in the ship. I'm not putting you in danger again."

Jack narrowed her eyes at Riddick. "I might be here with you, Riddick, but the only thing I care about is Ven and Brand." She stuffed her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels, glaring down at him from behind hooded eyes. "They watched out for me, but it was my job to take care of myself. I've been doing it for a long time, Riddick. You don't have the right to tell me what to do. You left me already." That said, Jack swept out of the room and Riddick heard her moving around, probably putting on her shoes and finding her goggles before the sound of the closing hatch signaled that she'd left the ship. He knew he should go after her, but as she'd so adequately put it, he'd left her already, and she could take care of herself.


	19. Disturbed

****

19. Disturbed

Jack tossed a pebble into the stream, watching as the splash traveled with the current before disappearing. She tossed in a handful of rocks and watched the separate splashes all wash away together. 

There was an odd twisting in her chest as she thought about Brand, so close yet so far away. She even knew what direction, a mere ten miles southwest, but she made no move to head that way. It would be too much of a risk. If she were caught, it would blow Gin and Riddick's cover and who knew what would happen then. So she just sat at the edge of the stream, throwing one pebble after another into the water.

The comforting weight of her shiv pressed against her hip from its hiding place in her pocket, and she pulled it out. She'd sharpened part of the top of the blade so it was angled for stabbing and slicing on both edges. The grip needed to be narrowed a bit more, so she pulled the whetstone from her other pocket and set to work, rubbing the smooth stone over the steel in long measured movements.

Each glide of stone on steel comforted Jack. She remembered sitting in Riddick's shitty prowler, cross-legged on the floor as he carefully shaped the shiv in his hands. He lifted his head and bestowed her with a rare smile, his jaguar eyes almost warm.

"Paying attention, kid?" he'd questioned.

Of course she had been. Everything he did fascinated her. The way he moved, the way he breathed, the way his hands could manipulate any material that would hold an edge into a weapon of accuracy and deathly balance.

Jack reached down and touched the slight bulge in her boot where the shiv he'd made her rested. The grip was small and curved with soft grooves that cradled the fingers of whoever held it. And only she had held it, and she could still see the smile on Riddick's face when he'd handed her the small weapon. The edge so sharp it would shave the hairs right off your head, it had been perfectly balanced and shaped for her hand.

"Thank you, Riddick," a naive and gullible Jack had whispered, believing the gift meant something more than what it had. She'd thought it meant Riddick wanted her around. Thought it meant he wouldn't leave her.

The smile on Riddick's face had been genuine and warm as he'd handed her a sheath that would secure the handmade blade to her ankle and inside her boot. She'd strapped the shiv into place and he'd rocked back on his heels, hands clasped behind his back, regarding her in a manner she suddenly realized was the basis of her own defensive pose. "You're welcome, Jack."

Disturbed by the memories, Jack shook them away and let her hand fall away from the bulge in her boot, returning to the shiv she was making. It was sharp, but still a crude imitation of the blades Riddick so carefully crafted. She knew it would take her many years and lots of practice before she could produce a knife of the same quality, or even of quality close to what he could do.

The shiv was a little larger than the one Riddick had made her and not nearly as fluid in its design. A frown of concentration drew Jack's brows together as she started narrowing down what would become the shiv's grip. It still didn't feel quite right, so she started in on the finger grooves, using the rounded edge of the whetstone to carve out niches for her fingers.

"Someday..." she muttered. "Be just as good as Riddick."

Jack spent the next four hours with her back against a tree, her boots a few inches from the bubbling surface of the stream. The grip of her shiv was starting to come together. She had it just the right thickness, finally, and the first finger groove was finished.

Jaw clenched from hours of concentration and her head throbbing mildly from staring at an object so close to her face for too long, Jack almost missed the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of Gin's ship.

__

Riddick, she noted. He was quiet, but only out of habit. He wasn't trying, and she could tell by the heavier tread that the feet were much too large to be Gin's.

"Jack." His deep voice rumbled across her nerve endings.

Analyzing her feelings, Jack remained silent. The tree stood between them still, so she quickly pocketed her shiv and whetstone, not wanting him to see them for some reason. Not sure if she was angry, happy, frustrated, or any of the many other emotions she often found herself experiencing in his presence, Jack sighed and allowed her chin to drop to her chest.

"Yeah, Riddick?"

She heard him step closer, rounding the tree to stand over her. Jack leaned her head back against the trunk and stared up at Riddick. A slight breeze threaded through the three-quarter inch long hair covering her scalp.

The big man and the petite teen regarded each other in silence for a long moment, neither willing to step forward with a comment that might turn things in a new direction, for better or worse.

Riddick finally scrounged up the balls to utter a comment Jack felt was decidedly lame. "Your hair is getting longer," he said gruffly.

Jack wondered if it was a compliment, and if it was, what the correct response should be. Going for an explanation of the obvious, she shrugged. "Hair still grows in cryo."

Silence stretched out, taut and uncomfortable for another length of time. Jack considered standing up and walking away from Riddick, but changed her mind when she saw a look of genuine... genuine _something_ cross his features. Something that looked like a cross between confusion, pain, and maybe even loneliness. He pulled off his goggles and rubbed the bridge of his nose, as if trying to alleviate some monster sized headache.

"Can we try this again?" he asked suddenly, pulling his goggles back over his eyes.

Almost daring to hope he meant what she thought he meant, Jack narrowed her eyes slightly. "Try what again?" she questioned suspiciously.

He made an all-encompassing motion with one large hand. "This," he repeated. "You, me. Us. Can we try again?"

Stuffing hope into a back corner in her heart, Jack slowly slid up the length of the tree until she was standing. "Us?" She shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels, tipping her chin up so she could gaze at him from beneath her lashes.

Riddick clasped his hands behind his back and clenched his jaw, shifting his weight back. If anyone could have seen them at that moment, the resemblance in their stances would have been immediately identified. He cocked his head to the side, and Jack could tell by the set of his eyebrows that his eyes had narrowed beneath the mirrored lenses of his spectrum goggles. 

"Ain't gonna make this easy for me, are you." It wasn't a question.

Wanting to even out the playing field a bit, Jack quickly pulled her goggles down over her eyes then stuffed her hand back in her jeans pocket. "Nope."

"Gonna make me spell it out?"

"Yup."

"Fine."

"Glad we understand each other."

"Do we?"

The question took Jack a little by surprise. She considered her answer for a quiet moment, head tilted in a manner that perfectly mimicked Riddick's. "I thought we did, once. Seems like long ago."

"You were right. We did understand each other," he replied quietly, sincerity and a strange tang of loss evident in those few words.

The restrained anger and hurt at being left behind, yet again, finally exploded from Jack. She burst forward until she was standing scant inches from Riddick's broad chest. "Then why the hell did you leave me, you fucking bastard!" she screamed in his face. Mustering all her pain into a tight ball of energy and courage, she shoved Riddick, the motion sudden and just hard enough to cause him to take two quick steps back. "Why? _Why? **Why?**_" she ranted. Reckless, Jack swung, expecting, almost _hoping_, that Riddick would deflect the blow and send her sprawling with a retaliatory strike of his own. It would remind her why she hated him so much. Help her forget that once she'd have died for him. She'd have killed for him. She'd have caught bullets in her teeth... But he didn't, and the blow connected, solid and hard. Hard enough to crack a normal person's jaw.

The audible sound of Riddick's teeth snapping together as his head jerked from the punch seemed to drain all the mind-numbing ferocity of Jack's emotions right from her body. She wondered numbly if they'd been all that was keeping her going over the past year as she felt her legs turn to putty. Then she was on her knees, hands fisted in the grass and head bent low. "Why?" she whispered again.

Jack hadn't realized that silence could be deafening until that moment. That moment when her delicate balance on the edge of tightly reigned control finally tilted, throwing her off her axis to careen wildly into a mess of wilted expectations, fried emotions, and lost innocence. The only sound was that of the local fauna chirruping in the branches above and the wind blowing through the trees.

When Riddick kneeled before her, Jack didn't bother to look up. She tensed herself, awaiting the shuddering pain that would accompany the blow he was about to deal her. Praying it would knock her unconscious so she could slip into oblivion and dream none of this ever happened.

Dream her parents hadn't died, that her foster parents hadn't abused her in too many ways to count, and that her adventure to rescue the daring Richard B. Riddick from a Company transport hadn't crashed and burned, literally and figuratively. That her hero hadn't left her alone, just as everyone before and after him had.

A shudder wracked her slim form when the blow she was waiting for finally came, but instead it was a caress of callused fingers beneath her chin, tilting her gaze up to Riddick's. She watched him with a mixture of longing, confusion, and suspicion. 

When Riddick reached out and pulled her goggles away from her eyes, Jack swallowed hard, her breathing a little ragged. "I never should have left you," he whispered. "Say we can try again, Jack."

The relief that flooded through her was immediate, almost painful in its intensity. "Riddick," she sobbed, and collapsed gratefully into the waiting embrace of the man, called a monster, that was the hero of one little girl.


	20. The Truth Will Set Us Free

****

20. The Truth Will Set Us Free

It had been five hours since Jack stormed out of the ship. Her parting shot about not having to take orders from him still hung in the air, though. Riddick had almost been able to hear the real meaning behind her words. _"Go to hell. I don't have to take your shit anymore."_ He was almost proud of her for having the balls to stand up to him.

But now Gin was staring at him, having finally woken up from her exhausted stupor, and Riddick really didn't feel like analyzing the thoughts that were probably turning the wheels in her head.

"Damn it, Riddick. Go to her."

Riddick clenched his jaw and glared at Gin. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't fuck with me, _Vic_. I might have been out of it, but I wasn't completely unconscious. Give me a little credit, aight?"

Riddick rubbed a hand over his head and stared at the wall. Abandoning all pretense, he finally said what he was really thinking. "Why? She doesn't want me to. She can take care of herself."

Sighing, Gin propped her head in her hand and rested the palm of her other hand on his thigh. "It has nothing to do with her being able to take care of herself. Don't you want things to be right again?"

Her gentle, understanding tone touched a spot in Riddick he didn't want to examine. "I don't give a fuck," he replied a little more forcefully than necessary.

"Liar. Admit it. You've got a soft spot for the kid."

"Fine!" he snarled, standing up and looking down at her. "You want to hear it? Wanna hear that Jack was the first person I can remember having ever treated me like a human being? That when I took her with me after the crash I woke up just so she could tell me she liked planet hopping with me more than she'd ever liked anything? You wanna hear that leaving Jack back on Dres hurt more than it should have?" Riddick took a breath. "Fine. There. You've heard it. The truth."

Gin smirked at him and rolled back to lay flat on her back. "So go make friends, asshole."

------

Riddick tracked Jack easily enough. She hadn't bothered trying to hide her trail, so her footprints in the alternating dirt and grass were easy to spot. 

He came up behind her near a stream. The girl was sitting with her back to a tree and she tensed slightly when she heard him approaching.

"Jack," he said quietly, knowing she could hear him anyway.

The sound of her putting something away in her pockets reached his ears and he wondered what she was hiding.

"Yeah, Riddick?"

Stepping closer, he rounded the tree and stood over her. Jack lifted her head and leaned back against the tree trunk. He noticed her hair had grown while they were in cryo-sleep when a breeze ruffled the short, spiky strands. It was only a little shorter than Gin's now. 

The silence seemed to stretch on forever and Riddick tried to think of something to say. Sarcastic, maybe? _No_, he thought. _Strike that_. Parental? The thought almost make him shudder, so he said the first thing that came to mind. "Your hair is getting longer." The comment came out a little more gruff sounding than he liked. _Sounds a little lame, too, dipship_.

Jack seemed to be thinking of a reply as her eyes narrowed slightly at him. "Hair still grows in cryo," she said finally.

A taut, uncomfortable silence stretched out between them and Riddick wondered what Jack was thinking. _Probably thinking your acting like an idiot_, he cursed himself. Staring at her, remembering the way things were before he left her, Riddick felt a sense of pain and loneliness course through him. It was almost confusing in its intensity. Riddick couldn't remember the last time he'd been lonely for someone.

Pulling off his goggles, he rubbed the bridge of his nose, trying to alleviate the headache he could feel building just behind his eyes.

"Can we try this again?" he questioned, pulling his goggles back on.

Jack's eyes narrowed and the suspicion in her gaze deepened. "Try what again?" she questioned.

He made a sweeping gesture with his hand. "This," he repeated. "You, me. Us. Can we try again?"

Riddick watched Jack slowly stand up, her back sliding against the tree trunk. "Us?" She shoved her hands in her pockets and rocked back on her heels, her chin coming up so she could give him a dark, assessing stare from beneath her eyelashes.

Clasping his hands behind his back, Riddick clenched his jaw and shifted back away from Jack slightly, balancing on his heels. He cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes slightly beneath the dark goggles. "Ain't gonna make this easy for me, are you."

The girl pulled her goggles over her eyes and then stuffed her hand back in her pocket. "Nope."

"Gonna make me spell it out?"

"Yup."

"Fine."

"Glad we understand each other," this remark with barely leashed sarcasm.

Riddick knew he wasn't getting anywhere, so he said something he hoped would get Jack's attention. "Do we?"

The question seemed to take the teen by surprise, and he waited while she took her time in considering the answer. Finally, cocking her head to the side, she said, "I thought we did, once. Seems like long ago."

"You were right. We did understand each other," he replied, his voice low and quiet. He wondered if the loss he suddenly felt himself experiencing in the face of her wary sarcasm was evident in his voice.

When he saw the anger start to twist her delicate features he wondered if he'd said the wrong thing. He was surprised when she suddenly launched herself at him so that she was standing only a few inches from his chest.

"Then why the hell did you leave me, you fucking bastard?" she screamed at him, throwing the words in his face. Her sudden shove caught him off guard and he took two quick steps back before she was in his face again. "Why? _Why? **Why?**_" she continued to rage.

Riddick saw her hand curl into a fist at her side. He saw the tightly clenched ball of anger swing with perfect accuracy toward his jaw. He knew he could block it, and from the look on her face, so did she. But she didn't check the swing and the set of her mouth and the pain in her words seemed to beg him to deflect the blow and smash her down to the ground. So he let her swing. Let the small, hard fist slam full force into his jaw and send his teeth to snapping together.

His head jerked slightly but he didn't rub at the offended area. _Damn, kid hits hard_, he thought. Riddick almost thought she was going to swing again, but instead all the anger seemed to drain out of her, leaving her weak.

Jack collapsed to her knees and let her head fall forward. Her hands fisted in the green grass. "Why?" she whispered, her voice weak and defeated sounding.

Feeling his heart contract painfully in his chest, Riddick kneeled before the girl, noting the way her body tensed as if in anticipation of the blow that would send her sprawling. She didn't look up at him, though, so he placed his fingers under her chin and forced her eyes to meet his. The goggles still blocked her gaze from his, and he wanted to see her eyes. Very carefully, Riddick reached out and pulled Jack's goggles off and let them fall into the grass by her hand. There was a look of longing, confusion, and suspicion on her face and in her eyes.

"I never should have left you," he whispered, knowing in his bones that it was the truth, and it shocked him a little. _The truth_, he wondered to himself. _Maybe the truth will set us free_. He continued to stare at her for a moment before he was able to continue. _Finish it, Dickie. Ask her for one more thing_. "Say we can try again, Jack."

The relief that suddenly flooded Jack's face was mirrored by the sudden contracting of Riddick's heart in his chest. He felt like he'd finally been freed from some enormous weight when he opened his arms and Jack threw herself against his chest.

"Riddick," she sobbed as she collapsed against him, burying her face in his shirt.

Riddick suddenly knew what family was like.


	21. Reunions and Revenge

****

21. Reunions and Revenge

Gin was sending out feelers in an attempt to contact Ven. It was an arduous process that made beads of sweat pop out on her forehead and upper lip. She knew that whatever contact she was able to establish, it wouldn't be like sending a message and getting one in return. Gin could convey feelings, not thoughts.

Just when she was ready to give up, she felt a thrum of response snake into her mind. Ven knew she was there. Breathing a sigh of relief, Gin lifted her head and nodded at Riddick. "They know," she said, trying to catch her breath.

"Good. Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Let's go." Gin stood up from her position on the floor and turned to face Jack. "Jack," she said, knowing things could go wrong and that she might never see the girl again. Knowing the girl couldn't go with them.

"Leaving me behind again, Gin. I know. I'll be here when you get back."

Gin smiled wryly at the girl and pulled her close for a hug. Jack pulled back after a moment and smiled at Gin. "I'll be seeing you around," Jack whispered. Gin nodded and the two hugged again for a moment before Riddick reminded them of the task ahead.

"Gin, let's go," Riddick said, standing in the doorway, looking dark and dangerous. Gin nodded and they headed out towards the house.

The sun was setting low on the horizon and the dim light made it easy for both Gin and Riddick to go free of darkened goggles over their sensitive eyes. They ran through the night like silent shadows, covering the ten miles between the ship and Gin's old house with amazing speed.

When pinpoints of light became visible in the night they replaced their goggles and slid along the edge of the clearing that the house occupied. They lowered themselves to the ground, backs against trees, to check their weapons.

Riddick pulled his shiv and studied the sharp edge coolly, checking for any dull spots. There were none. Gin did likewise with her knife and then they checked the ammo in their guns, cocking them swiftly before looking at each other. It was time to move in.

The plan had been thought over in detail. Gin had drawn a schematic of the house, pinpointing the best places to hide. Then Riddick had figured out what to do from there.

They'd split up and enter from the south and east sides. Riddick east, Gin south. From there Gin would enter the den and slide down the hall to the master bedroom where she would meet Riddick. They could cover the house faster that way and signal each other if there was any trouble.

Gin made to step into the clearing and Riddick grabbed her arm. She froze and turned to him. He yanked her close to his chest and kissed her deeply, sliding his tongue into her mouth and fisting his hand in her hair. She moaned under the onslaught and raised herself against him, responding in a way that said they could both die that night. He groaned then let her go, then they broke and silently ran for the house.

Riddick split away from her and headed towards the east entrance leaving her to the south as they'd planned. The door was locked and that surprised her. She'd never had any locks on the doors. There had been no need that far out. They'd been ready for this though. She pulled the glass cutter from her bag and stuck it on the glass pane of the door. The arm reached around that and she pressed it down and slid it in a circle around the suction handle. The class pulled out easily and she set it on the ground before reaching into the door and finding the lock. She gave it quick twist and then eased the door open as quietly as she could.

The lights in the house were strangely bright and Gin was thankful for her goggles. She could smell Ven and Brand, and someone else. She didn't like it, but the scent of her siblings made her almost giddy. She shook her head to clear it, hoping neither Ven or Brand would make any signals to say that they knew anyone was there. Gin was sure they wouldn't.

Riddick's presence was obvious to her sharp senses and the hint of his scent was a comfort. The scent of her siblings became stronger as she headed for the bedroom. They'd know she was in the house now. It was just a matter of time before they were all back together again.

------

Ven shot Brand what she hoped was a comforting look, knowing he couldn't answer her without giving away Gin. Knowing Gin was so close was almost enough to make Ven shout out loud, but unfortunately such overtures of exuberant joy weren't an option. 

Ven had sense more than heard two people entering the house, and at first she was confused. The almost imperceptible hint of a scent Ven couldn't place had entered the air. Someone was with Gin, but who?

She looked at Brand and caught his eye. Ven was surprised to see the knowing look on Brand's face.

"_Riddick_," he mouthed silently, keeping his head turned away from their captor.

James, as he'd introduced himself, was sitting on Gin's old bed, and reading one of her books. He knew Gin was coming. Once he'd dragged Ven and Brand on board his ship, finding out who they were hadn't been hard. Ven had her last name tattooed in plain sight on her shoulder, directly beneath the howling form of a wolf. They'd used each other's first names in the fight that had ended in their capture and Rain's death. The overly cocky Ranger wasn't so stupid as to not remember who the Wolf family was. 

Exploiting Ven's minute ESP, he'd forced her to try and contact Gin or watch Brand get skinned alive before he set to work on her. The answer had been easy. Call Gin, save Brand and herself, and watch Gin slowly take care of James. And now Gin and Riddick were here and James didn't have a clue. 

Ven leaned back in her rough wooden chair and closed her eyes. Feigning sleep was a good trick, and Brand quickly followed her example.

There was a sudden bang and James bolted to his feet, pulling his gun as he stood. Another bang and he was running for the door. There was a grunt and yelp and suddenly James' head was visible on the floor, blood coming from a cut on his temple. A dragging sound and James' head disappeared again.

Then Gin was stepping into the room with Riddick behind her. Gin froze and stared at her brother and sister, tied to straight back chairs. Her eyes misted and she dashed her hand across them before rushing to their sides, pulling her blade. She cut their bonds and then they were all standing together, holding each other, while Riddick watched from the outside.

But then Gin held out an arm to him and he stepped closer slowly and she grabbed his hand and yanked him to her, hugging him.

"Thank you," she kept repeating in his ear over and over again, and he held her close to his chest. Then she pulled away and was hugging Ven and Brand again, all of them grinning like fools and crushing the air out of one another.

------

Gin, Ven, Brand, Riddick, and Jack sat around the table talking quietly.

"Okay, start from the beginning," Gin ordered.

"Okay," Ven began. "After we left Jack on Dres we searched for you about two weeks before getting a lead that you'd been on Titan. Our ship crashed on Rhea, so we headed to New-New York with the rest of the survivors.

"There was a convict named Rain aboard the ship, and she escaped after the crash. Later we found out she used to be a Ranger. We thought she might know where you were, so we made her a deal. 'Help us find our sister and we'll get you as far away from the Company as we can.' Riddick was on the ship, too, but we didn't know he was looking for you." Ven turned to Jack. "We didn't know Jack knew you either.

"Me and Brand had been saving up creds for years by that point and we were able to pick up a pretty decent ship without any trouble. The three of us were getting ready to take off for Dres when that bastard," she pointed at James, who was tied and gagged on the floor, "comes flying outta no where, shoots me and Brand and tosses Rain through a glass door."

"You didn't let him get away with that, did you?" Gin asked.

"Hell no. I slit his throat," Brand answered, glaring at the man himself. A dark scowl marked the boys features as he added, "Unfortunately, I missed his jugular."

"It was a good thing Rain got us out of there before we were all dead," Ven said.

"You know the rest from there," Brand said.

Gin turned to Brand. "Where's Rain?"

"Dead," Brand whispered. "You'da liked her, I think. You met her, Riddick. Did you like her?"

Riddick turned to the kid and shrugged. "She liked to kill. That's dangerous. She killed more than me and that's even more dangerous."

"Yeah. We thought so, too, Riddick," Ven replied. "But in the end, she changed. It was weird, but she died for us, and I'll never forget that."

"And neither will I," Gin added. "Whoever Rain was, she saved you guys for me, and that warrants more debt that I'll ever be able to repay. Only one matter of business left now."

They all turned and looked at James, sprawled prostrate on the floor, hands and feet bound tightly.

James, conscious the whole time, knew he was in for the most painful experience of his life by the look in the five peoples' eyes gathered around him.

Gin stood first and pulled a chair after her to James' side. Riddick grabbed the man and hauled him into the chair where Ven began to tie him up. They worked like they had a plan, and James began to wonder if maybe they did. In any case he didn't like what was going on, and he felt he never would.


	22. Welcome Home

****

22. Welcome Home

"Well, that was messy," Ven commented as they threw the last shovel of dirt over James' shallow grave. 

They'd dragged his mangled corpse deep into the woods and buried him there. Local wildlife would pick up his blood scent soon, and then he'd be steak.

Jack stood near Brand, both of them leaning back against a tree. "That was gross," she murmured.

"You didn't have to watch," Gin said, looking at the teen as she hitched her shovel up on her shoulder.

The girl looked up, her jaw clenching tight. "I wanted to watch."

Gin stared at her for a moment, seeing the steel in the girl that had pulled her through a hell planet and any number of other trials. She nodded at Jack, understanding that she'd had to see James dead, too. "Let's go home," she said.

The rag-tag group walked through the forest, ducking branches and staying silent. No one spoke and the only sound was the whisper of the grass underfoot. Even Jack walked with the silent gait of a predator.

When they got to the house they all sat around the kitchen table. It was still mostly covered in dust, but no one cared. Gin felt worn but strangely complete as she looked at her brother and sister. Riddick moved to stand behind her, his hands dropping to her shoulders.

"You okay?" he asked, bending over to place his mouth near her ear. She nodded slowly.

Brand looked at Jack. "Are you going to be all right?" 

Jack looked at Brand, a slight smile quirking the corner of her mouth. "I'm fine. Just haven't seen anything like that since-" she trailed off and shuddered. 

Riddick nodded. "Yeah, kid, I know what you mean."

"But he deserved it," Jack added, her eyes narrowing to dark green slits of anger. "He went the way he deserved. Too bad you couldn't have hanged him by his guts instead of just wrapping 'em around his neck."

Gin ground her teeth together. "He messed with my family. That was too much. He went too far. I don't want to ever have to do that again. I'm sick of the killing." She dropped her head to her arms on the table and closed her eyes.

Ven reached out and grabbed her sister's hand. "I think we all are."

Brand nodded, agreeing silently. He shuddered at the memory of what James had looked like when he finally died. Gin had learned a lot of things while she was gone, and Riddick had some interesting knowledge of how much injury and pain the human body could sustain, too. Brand shuddered again.

"Well, it's over now," Ven stated and Gin raised her head slowly and smiled wanly. Riddick squeezed her shoulders.

"Over," Gin repeated. "Finally over."

------

Riddick stood on the front porch. Ven, Brand, and Gin were all staying here. They'd stay here forever or until more Rangers came. Whichever came first. He didn't know about Jack, but he was sure she'd be welcome here. Where he went from here was still a mystery to everyone, including himself.

He really cared about Gin. _There's nothing out there for me_, he thought, staring beyond the atmosphere to the stars he knew lay ahead of the blue sky. And he liked this place. It was quiet. No one knew him, the light wasn't bright. He could almost walk around without his goggles in midday.

It has been three weeks since they'd landed on Crip and everyone seemed to have relaxed. Riddick hadn't realized how tense Gin had been until she began to unwind here. She smiled, laughed, teased. Acted almost completely like someone who hadn't dealt with so much in her life, hadn't lost so much, killed so much. He could feel the change in himself, as well. Riddick had let his defenses drop bit by bit, and now he was comfortable. It was like being free, completely uninhibited. He was reluctant to leave, but Gin hadn't asked him to stay.

Riddick started when he felt warm hands circle his waist from behind and a slight body press against his back. He relaxed again when he recognized Gin's familiar scent. Even that was a change. Before, if anyone had gotten the jump on him like that he's have cursed himself for being soft, but only after the person behind him was on the ground with their throat slit.

"Mornin', sexy," Gin purred against his throat before flicking out her tongue to taste his skin.

Riddick placed his hands over hers and leaned back slightly, enjoying the warm feel of her body against his, savoring it. He chuckled and arched slightly forward when one slim hand slid below his waistband and stroked him sensuously. "Mhmm... Mornin'," he growled back.

They stood there together for a long time before Riddick turned and pushed Gin backwards until her back was against the wall. Then he proceeded to drive her mad with his hands and mouth. "Stop that," she moaned, "unless you're going to do something about it."

"Who said I wasn't?" Riddick rumbled against her throat.

"Here's not good. The others..." she trailed off into a low groan as he slid low then slid back up the length of her slowly, pressing very close to her.

"Fuck the others," he answered. "They're out for another hour." Then he adjusted his pants and hers and lifted her up until her legs were around his hips before sliding into her slowly.

"Oh, God," she breathed and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, arching her back so her breasts plumped against his chest.

"Look at me," he commanded, sliding out of her slowly before pressing back in. "I want you to look at me." The shade there, with his back to the sun was sufficient and he pulled off his goggles and dropped them to the ground.

Gin locked her eyes with Riddick's and slid a hand over his head slowly. He thrust into her hard over and over again, bringing her to orgasm quickly and letting his own come over him at the same time. Her head fell back against the wall and he leaned against her heavily, pressing her tight to the wall.

They didn't move for a long time, locked together like that. "Please..."

Riddick lifted his head, hearing Gin's voice against his ear. Her eyes were misty and she clung to him. 

"Please," she repeated quietly.

"Please what?" he asked, worried. _What did she mean? Please go? Please move? Please stay? _He found himself praying for the later.

Gin shook her head and looked away. "No, Gin, look at me," Riddick demanded but she shook her head again, avoiding his eyes. He grabbed her chin in his hand and forced her to look at him. She closed her eyes and a tear slipped out to trail slowly down her smooth cheek. "Gin, please-." Riddick froze. He'd never said please in his life.

"Please, Riddick," she finally murmured, opening her eyes to stare pleadingly into his. "Please, don't go."

Riddick's chest expanded with his breath of relief before he crushed her to him, his arms squeezing her like bands of iron. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that for three weeks." 

"Thank God," Gin groaned and pulled his mouth to hers for a passionate kiss. "I was so scared you were going to leave here without me." She looked at him intensely. "I'd have followed you," she confessed. "I'd have left them again to get you back."

Riddick wanted to jump tall buildings, fly, and in that moment he stopped hating God. He let it go to become a man. Pure and simple, but above all, this woman's man. "Thank you," he growled. "Thank you for asking me. I'll stay, because you're here."

"I love you, Richard B. Riddick, and if you ever run off, I'll track you down and drag you back kickin' and screamin'," Gin told him.

Riddick laughed. "Same for you, Gin. I love you too much to let you go... Ever."

**__**

FINIS


	23. Afterword

****

Afterword

That was the last chapter of **Freedom Found**, and also the last book of the **Hunting For Freedom Trilogy**. Thanks for sticking with me throughout this series, and I hope you'll leave me your reviews so I know what you thought of it all.

I think I'm going to write a short companion piece, about Rain, that will tie up a few loose ends. Hope you'll read that when it's finished.

Again, thank you for reading this fan fiction series.


End file.
